Background: Human myiasis is a parasitic dipteran fly infestation that infects humans and vertebrates worldwide. However, the disease is endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it is under-reported and therefore its prevalence is unknown. This systematic review aims to elucidate the prevalence of human myiasis, factors that influence the infection, and myiasis-causing fly species in SSA. The review also dwelled on the common myiasis types and treatment methods of human myiasis.Methods: Here, we collect cases of human myiasis in Sub-Saharan Africa based on literature retrieved from PubMed, Google Scholar and Science Direct from 1959 to 2022. A total of 75 articles and 157 cases were included in the study. The recommendations of PRISMA 2020 were used for the realization of this systematic review.Results: In total, 157 cases of human myiasis in SSA were reviewed. Eleven fly species (Cordylobia anthropophaga,Cordylobia rodhaini,Dermatobia hominis,Lucilia cuprina,Lucilia sericata,Oestrus ovis,Sarcophagaspp.,Sarcophaga nodosa,Chrysomya megacephala,Chrysomya chloropygaandClogmia albipuntum) were found to cause human myiasis in SSA.Cordylobia anthropophagawas the most prevalent myiasis-causing species of the reported cases (n = 104, 66.2%). More than half of the reported cases were from travelers returning from SSA (n = 122, 77.7%). Cutaneous myiasis was the most common clinical presentation of the disease (n = 86, 54.7%). Females were more infected (n = 78, 49.6%) than males, and there was a higher infestation in adults than young children.Conclusion: The findings of this study reveals that international travelers to Sub-Saharan Africa were mostly infested therefore, we recommend that both international travelers and natives of SSA be enlightened by public health officers about the disease and its risk factors at entry points in SSA and the community level respectively. Clinicians in Sub-Saharan Africa often misdiagnose the disease and most of them lack the expertise to properly identify larvae, so we recommend the extensive use of molecular identification methods instead.

Medicinal leeches in the genus Hirudo have been utilized for therapeutic procedures for thousands of years. To date, six known species of Hirudo are widely distributed in different regions of the Eurasian continent. In this study, a new medicinal leech species Hirudo tianjinensis Liu, sp. nov. is described based upon specimens collected from Tianjin City, China. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters: blackish green dorsum with five continuous yellow longitudinal stripes; six sensillae on dorsal annulus a2 of segments VIII–XXV; greyish green ventrum with irregular bilateral dark brown spots; dorsum and abdomen separated by a pair of pale yellow stripes; front half atrium wrapped by white prostate; apparent albumen gland; epididymis massive in relation to ejaculatory bulb. The phylogenetic tree based upon COI implies a sister relationship to H. nipponia Whitman, 1886. A key to the known species is provided.

Blow flies are among the most important insects in forensic entomology casework. Identification of blow fly species can be a time consuming and difficult task, especially at their early development stages. Present DNA-based technologies provide a promising identification method for these forensically important calliphorids. The cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence has been applied as a suitable DNA marker in calliphorid identification for many years; however, limitation exists in using short sequence to determine genetically close species. In this study, COI long sequences were utilized in species-level identification. Seventy-two specimens were collected from 27 locations across 22 Chinese provinces, and unambiguously determined as 16 species under seven genera of Calliphoridae. Analysis of long mitochondrial COI sequence (1,021–1,382 bp) data from forensically relevant blow flies collected in the inland region of China provided a reliable marker for accurate identification. Our data provide genetic diversity and reference for global forensic-related blow fly species identification, and conductive meaning on future utilization of Chinese calliphorids used in forensic entomological practice.

Background: The time-length between the first colonization of necrophagous insect on the corpse and the beginning of investigation represents the most important forensic concept of minimum post-mortem inference (PMImin). Before colonization, the time spent by an insect to detect and locate a corpse could significantly influence the PMImin estimation. The olfactory system plays an important role in insect food foraging behavior. Proteins like odorant binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odorant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs) and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) represent the most important parts of this system. Exploration of the above genes and their necrophagous products should facilitate not only the understanding of their roles in forging but also their influence on the period before PMImin. Transcriptome sequencing has been wildly utilized to reveal the expression of particular genes under different temporal and spatial condition in a high throughput way. In this study, transcriptomic study was implemented on antennae of adult Aldrichina grahami (Aldrich) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a necrophagous insect with forensic significance, to reveal the composition and expression feature of OBPs, CSPs, ORs, IRs and SNMPs genes at transcriptome level. Method: Antennae transcriptome sequencing of A. grahami was performed using next-generation deep sequencing on the platform of BGISEQ-500. The raw data were deposited into NCBI (PRJNA513084). All the transcripts were functionally annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed between female and male antennae. The transcripts of OBPs, CSPs, ORs, IRs and SNMPs were identified based on sequence feature. Phylogenetic development of olfactory genes of A. grahami with other species was analyzed using MEGA 5.0. RT-qPCR was utilized to verify gene expression generated from the transcriptome sequencing. Results: In total, 14,193 genes were annotated in the antennae transcriptome based on the GO and the KEGG databases. We found that 740 DEGs were differently expressed between female and male antennae. Among those, 195 transcripts were annotated as candidate olfactory genes then checked by sequence feature. Of these, 27 OBPs, one CSPs, 49 ORs, six IRs and two SNMPs were finally identified in antennae of A. grahami. Phylogenetic development suggested that some olfactory genes may play a role in food forging, perception of pheromone and decomposing odors. Conclusion: Overall, our results suggest the existence of gender and spatial expression differences in olfactory genes from antennae of A. grahami. Such differences are likely to greatly influence insect behavior around a corpse. In addition, candidate olfactory genes with predicted function provide valuable information for further studies of the molecular mechanisms of olfactory detection of forensically important fly species and thus deepen our understanding of the period before PMImin.

Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are the most commonly found entomological evidence in forensic investigations. Distinguished from other blowflies, Aldrichina grahami has some unique biological characteristics and is a species of forensic importance. Its development rate, pattern, and life cycle can provide valuable information for the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval. Herein we provide a chromosome-level genome assembly of A. grahami that was generated by Pacific BioSciences sequencing platform and chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) technology. A total of 50.15 Gb clean reads of the A. grahami genome were generated. FALCON and Wtdbg were used to construct the genome of A. grahami, resulting in an assembly of 600 Mb and 1,604 contigs with an N50 size of 1.93 Mb. We predicted 12,823 protein-coding genes, 99.8% of which was functionally annotated on the basis of the de novo genome (SRA: PRJNA513084) and transcriptome (SRA: SRX5207346) of A. grahami. According to the co-analysis with 11 other insect species, clustering and phylogenetic reconstruction of gene families were performed. Using Hi-C sequencing, a chromosome-level assembly of 6 chromosomes was generated with scaffold N50 of 104.7 Mb. Of these scaffolds, 96.4% were anchored to the total A. grahami genome contig bases. The present study provides a robust genome reference for A. grahami that supplements vital genetic information for nonhuman forensic genomics and facilitates the future research of A. grahami and other necrophagous blowfly species used in forensic medicine.

Purpose: LncRNA-Atherosclerotic plaque pathogenesis-associated transcript ( APPAT) could be detected in circulating blood and has been demonstrated to correlate with the development of atherosclerosis in our previous work. It could be a potential noninvasive biomarker for earlier diagnoses of clinical cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the expression of miR-647 increased in ox-LDL-treated vascular smooth muscle cells and peripheral blood of patients with coronary heart disease. A negative correlation between APPAT and miR-647 was confirmed, and FGF5 was screened as molecular target of miR-647. However, it is largely unclear how APPAT, miR-647, and FGF5 interact and function in disease development. Here, we aim to explore the underlying molecular mechanism in this progression. Materials and Methods: APPAT, miR-647, and FGF5 expression levels were detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; cell proliferation was detected by EdU incorporation assay; cell migration was detected by wound-healing assay; the molecular interaction of APPAT/FGF5 with miR-647 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay; the western blot was performed to determine the gene expression at protein levels; subcellular localizations of APPAT and miR-647 were observed by fluorescence in situ hybridization; cytosolic and nucleus fractionation assay was performed to further detect the distribution of miR-647. Results: APPAT and miR-647 have inverse effects on human aortic smooth muscle cells’ (HASMCs) proliferation and migration. APPAT negatively regulated the cell activity, whereas miR-647 did it in a positive way (p<0.05). Three pairs of molecular interplay were found: mutual negative regulation between APPAT and miR-647, APPAT downregulated FGF5, miR-647 regulation on FGF5 (p<0.05). Subcellular location assay confirmed the molecular interaction of APPAT and miR-647. Conclusions: APPAT could suppress the migration and proliferation of ox-LDL-treated HASMCs via interacting with miR-647 and FGF5. We revealed a nontypical competing endogenous RNA mechanism of long noncoding RNA in the progression of atherosclerosis.