RNA病毒 z-bo 2020-09-24 428

　　"Nature" published online the academic paper "Redefining the Invertebrate RNA Virus Circle" by Zhang Yongzhen, a researcher from the Institute of Infectious Diseases of the Chinese Center for Disease Control. This study, which started in 2011, discovered 1,445 new RNA viruses, which greatly enriched the diversity of RNA viruses and revealed the basic laws of the occurrence and evolution of RNA viruses from the perspective of genetic evolution. Some of these viruses are so different from existing known viruses that they need to be redefined as new virus families.

　　According to the statistics of the International Committee for Classification of Viruses, there are currently 2,284 confirmed DNA viruses and RNA viruses. This time, Zhang Yongzhen's team discovered a large number of new viruses, which not only enriched the "database" of viruses, but also filled major gaps in virus evolution. At the same time, it also changed the traditional concept of virology, and provided a new foundation for understanding the origin and evolution of life.

　　Zhang Yongzhen said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that in decades of virus research, he has been committed to analyzing the relationship between newly discovered viruses and known pathogens, and discovering the laws of their spread and their pathogenicity to humans. This will help to improve the detection and screening of unknown viruses in the prevention and control of new and sudden infectious diseases in my country, and it will also help improve my country's clinical diagnosis capabilities for infectious diseases caused by unknown causes, and early identification of pathogens, so as to achieve Targeted treatment. Zhang Yongzhen said that in the next step, he will cooperate with the hospital to apply the latest findings to clinical diagnosis and provide help for the research of diagnostic reagents and vaccines.

　　Gao Fu, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "These findings play an important role in the early warning and prediction of the virus, and are closely related to human health."