Pan-Genomic Analysis of African Swine Fever Virus

Dear Editor,African swine fever(ASF)is a severe haemorrhagic fever in domestic pigs and wild boar with extremely high mortality rate.It is cataloged as a notifiable disease by the World Organization for Animal Health(OIE).The etiological agent that causes the highly lethal disease is the African swine fever virus(ASFV)(Sanchez-Vizcaino) et al.

First Glimpse of Gut Microbiota of Quarantine Insects in China

Quarantine insects are economically important pests that frequently invade new habitats.A rapid and accurate monitoring method to trace the geographical sources of invaders is required for their prevention,detection,and eradication.Current methods based on genetics are typically time-consuming.Here,we developed a novel tracing method based on insect gut microbiota.The source location of the insect gut microbiota can be used to rapidly determine the geographical origin of the insect.We analyzed 179 gut microbiota samples from 591 individuals of 22 quarantine insect species collected from 36 regions in China.The gut microbiota of these insects primarily included Actinobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Cyanobacteria,Firmicutes,Proteobacteria,and Tenericutes.The diversity of the insect gut microbiota was closely associated with geographical and environmental factors.Different insect species could be distinguished based on the composition of gut microbiota at the phylum level.Populations of individual insect species from different regions could be distinguished based on the composition of gut microbiota at the phylum,class,and order levels.A method for determining the geographical origins of invasive insect species has been established;however,its practical application requires further investigations before implementation.

Integration of biosafety surveillance through Biosafety Surveillance Conceptual Data Model

The global movement of people and goods has increased the risk of biosecurity threats and their potential to induce large economic,social,and environmental harm.Integration of biosafety monitoring networks has become a top priority for addressing biosafety issues.In order to resolve the data standards and integration problems in the field of biosafety in China,the Biosafety Surveillance Conceptual Data Model(BSCDM),which is an object-oriented,hierarchically designed,flexible and scalable biosafety surveillance concept data model,is proposed in this article.This model is based on the integration of business process management and data resources of disease surveillance,animal disease surveillance and potential invasive biological monitoring.In reference to the Public Health Conceptual Data Model(PHCDM)and Federal Enterprise Architecture(FEA),BSCDM conducts a thorough analysis of biosafety monitoring activities,records basic information requirements of biosafety monitoring and provides data set standards for biosafety-related activities.It is developed with the Unified Modeling Language(UML)and could be applied as an open standard for accelerating data analysis and promoting collaboration.This study attempts to integrate biosafety monitoring data and the presented model has been tested in the detection of dengue fever in China and will be applied to other biosafety fields.