House Fly Genome Completed, Gives Insight Into Disease Control

The entire genome of the common house fly (Musca domestica) has now been completed. The research was published on October 13^th, by Jeff Scott, an entomology professor at Cornell University, and an international team of researchers. This research can give scientists insight into controlling the spread of human diseases.

It is no secret that houseflies are often in the most unsanitary of environments – whether it be trash, dead organisms, or septic matter – and are regularly in contact with bacteria, viruses and other harmful pathogens. Therefore, both the adult flies and offspring spread diseases easily. They can carry over 100 illnesses.

Scientists sequenced the genomes of six female houseflies and compared these genomes with the genome of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), to see which DNA parts were unique to the housefly. They saw that the housefly had many more immune genes than Drosophila.

Houseflies, and many other flies, can spread human diseases. Knowing the house fly’s genome means that scientists can study those genes, finding new ways to control flies and stop the spread of disease. This could be by manipulating the fly’s genes themselves to kill them, or developing new toxins to disrupt the fly’s internal balance, among other ways.

I think that knowing the genome of the house fly can prove to be very useful, especially when it comes to stopping the spread of disease. I just hope that any new methods to control house flies does not backfire and we don't end up wiping out the species, because even though these flies spread disease, they are very crucial to the food web and other environmental cycles.

Link to article: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/10/house-fly-genome-reveals-expanded-immune-system