Genes belonging to a dingo that died 350 years ago could be the saviour for Australia's native dogs.

Cross-breeding between dingoes and domestic dogs is one of the biggest threats to their survival.

Dingoes are on the cusp of becoming endangered but a Queensland researcher says centuries-old bones found in the small seaside town of Augusta, Western Australia in the 1970s, will be used to pinpoint pockets of genetically pure dogs.

"One of the big issues facing the survival of the species is their inter-breeding with domestic dogs," University of the Sunshine Coast researcher Subashchandran Sankarasubramanian said.

"The situation is so bad that we could very well see the loss of genetically-pure dingoes altogether."

Dr Sankarasubramanian says stepping back in time to analyse dingo genetics prior to the the arrival of Europeans in Australia is the answer to securing their survival.

He will travel to the US to work with scientists at the Smithsonian Institute with financial support from the Queensland government.