Assessing the potential use of blow fly sampling in xenosurveillance of pathogens in the environment

Blow flies have the potential to be used as monitors for pathogens present in the environment. These flies will often utilize decomposing remains as a site for many biological processes such as feeding and oviposition. These relationships between such resources and blow flies serve as a rich source of information on the animal populations with which they interact, and the microbial community associated with those animals. In this study, existing mRNA libraries from laboratory colony flies and libraries created from wild type flies were analyzed for the presence of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes. These results were filtered for common organisms associated with decomposition and insects, as well as pathogens with human health and agricultural importance.