MOSCOW/30 September 2021/OIE/. The OIE Regional Representation for Europe in Moscow (RRM) took part in the 3rd International Scientific and Practical Conference on Molecular Genetic Technologies for Analysis of Gene Expression Related to Animal Productivity and Disease Resistance. The event was organized by the RRM stakeholder — K.I.Skryabin Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology under the Russian national Year of Science within the month for Genetics and Welfare. On behalf of Dr Budimir Plavsic, the OIE Regional Representative, Dr Marina Sokolova from the Moscow office, welcomed the conference participants.
The development and application of modern molecular genetic methods in veterinary sciences and development of new standards based on scientific evidence are constantly in the focus of the OIE with overall goal to support Member countries and their Veterinary Services. In its practice, the OIE relies on scientific data obtained in a network of research institutes, Collaborating centers and Reference laboratories that have received the OIE accreditation around the world (more than 250 reference laboratories), including two in Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor centers – ARRIAH and VGNKI).
The last decade, and especially the last two years, it has become clear that communication between scientists and exchange of scientific data is of great value. Many laboratories around the world have the capacity to perform a complete genomic sequence of pathogens. We have all witnessed how quickly data on the genetics of different strains of coronavirus in humans and animals are published openly. This saves many lives, as knowledge of the behavior of various strains in organisms allows the development of effective diseases prevention and treatment.
One of the main areas of OIE activity is the development and maintenance of international standards — two OIE Codes for the health of terrestrial and aquatic animals and two OIE Manuals for diagnostic tests and vaccines for terrestrial animals and diagnostic tests for aquatic animals. The Terrestrial Animal Code, in particular Chapter 7 on Animal Welfare, includes basic principles for breeding, genetically modified animals, clones, their use for scientific and educational purposes. In 7.1.5. it is said the “Genetic selection should always take into account the health and welfare of animals. Animals chosen for introduction into new environments should be suited to the local climate and able to adapt to local diseases, parasites, and nutrition.”
Currently, the prospect of creating a specialized OIE Pathogen Genomic Platform is being discussed, which will digitally store the sequences of the genomes of animal pathogens, including zoonotic ones, and which will be available to all research institutes and scientists. The main idea of the platform is to link the sequence data with the epidemiological data of the corresponding outbreaks. Such a platform can become an indispensable tool for research and applied work.
RRM encourages Russian scientists to use OIE capacities to develop this area, and as the conference programme shows, the Skryabin Veterinary Academy and its partners have significant scientific resources for further progress.
Famous Russian and foreign scientists took part in the conference. Prof F Zaberezhnyi presented an overview and latest development in research of the “mysterious virus” - Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Prof Daren Griffin from the University of Kent explained how bird genomes evolved from dinosaurs and why Jurassic Park movies are a fiction and could not happen in reality. He warned that dinosaurs went extinct due to the ancient meteor strike, and now humans can be that meteor for many species. A number of presentations were focused on gene expression profiles in animals on different diets including prebiotics. Successful laboratory works were reported on genome editing and embryonic cloning in cattle.
