BopCo is a joint initiative of Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika , funded by BELSPO - Belgian Science Policy Office

🌱 A great reminder that collaboration between science and industry is essential to protect biodiversity!

🤝 BopCo is always looking for new collaborations — feel free to reach out if you are interested!

The event also featured multiple talks by invited speakers. Their key message was clear: businesses play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation by investing thoughtfully and acting at multiple levels to implement impactful and sustainable green policies.

The SpeciesID.be consortium was represented through a joint stand by BopCo and ENFORCE.
🎥 BopCo showcased a demo video illustrating how a DNA identification request is usually processed.
🔬 ENFORCE engaged visitors with a handheld microscope, demonstrating their expertise in wood identification.

🌿 At the 10th Biodiversity Spring Market organized by the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, the spotlight was on “Business & Biodiversity” — a theme that highlights the role of companies in shaping a more sustainable future. This event was hosted at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.

speciesID.be speciesID.be is a consortium of research centers specialized in the identification of biological samples through advanced morphological and molecular methods

We look forward to many more fruitful collaborations and to strengthening our services, research, and impact in the years ahead.

We are always looking for new partnerships, so don't hesitate to reach out to us.

🔗 speciesid.be

🏅 This recognition as a Centre of Excellence confirms the societal relevance, scientific quality and unique interdisciplinary capacity of speciesID.be, and marks an important milestone towards sustainable, long‑term operation and collaboration with national and international partners.

Institute of Natural Sciences (c)Samuel Vanden Abeele

The units are hosted by the @naturalsciences-be.bsky.social and the AfricaMuseum, and together we provide reliable, science‑based identification services. Our work supports biodiversity conservation, public health, food-chain monitoring, and the fight against illegal trafficking of natural resources

speciesID.be unites the expertise of three complementary scientific units:

🔹 BopCo - species and tissue identification of organisms of policy concern
🔹 ENFORCE - forensic wood identification and research
🔹 JEMU - pioneering genomic and molecular tools for taxonomy and species identification

speciesID.be speciesID.be is a consortium of research centers specialized in the identification of biological samples through advanced morphological and molecular methods

📣 speciesID.be awarded with a Seal of Excellence!

We are proud to announce that speciesID.be has officially been recognised by @belspo.be as a Centre of Excellence for the ‘Identification and Molecular Analysis of Species and Tissues of Policy Concern’.

🔬 What is speciesID.be?

🧵👇

🔬 BopCo is a joint initiative of @naturalsciences-be.bsky.social and the AfricaMuseum, funded by @belspo.be

🤝 Through collaboration with Aviornis International vzw and the World Pheasant Association - Benelux, BopCo contributes scientific expertise to the Tragopan focus group, strengthening conservation efforts and helping safeguard these remarkable birds for future generations.

ℹ️ Why this matters

This kind of genetic profiling is essential to:
⊹ Establish responsible ex situ conservation programs
⊹ Enforce CITES regulations
⊹ Maintain species integrity
⊹ Prevent the unintentional breeding of hybrids
⊹ Guide informed, genetically sound breeding decisions

Tragopan feathers used for DNA analysis by BopCo

Tragopan feathers used for DNA analysis by BopCo

🧬 By combining mitochondrial DNA sequencing with nuclear microsatellite markers, we can distinguish pure species from hybrids and build kinship matrices that reveal genetic relationships within populations.

Identification of Tragopan pheasants using DNA analysis BopCo uses DNA analyses to identify Tragopan pheasants and detect hybridization, to support conservation and enforcement of CITES regulations.

🧬 How BopCo supports their conservation

BopCo uses DNA-based tools to accurately identify Tragopan species and detect hybridization, something that’s often impossible to see based on appearance alone, especially in captive populations.

🔗 Learn more: www.bopco.be/projects/tra...

Cabot's tragopan (Tragopan caboti), photographed in Mount Sanqing, Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, China, by Sun Jiao [CC-BY-SA-4.0]

Satyr tragopan (Tragopan satyra) at Praha ZOO by Matěj Baťha [CC-BY-SA 3.0]

Temminck's tragopan (Tragopan temminckii) at Washington D.C. Zoo by Jarek Tuszyński [CC-BY-SA-3.0]

🐦‍🔥 Meet the Tragopan: one of the Himalayas’ most spectacular birds

Often called “horned pheasants”, these stunning birds display inflatable orange or blue horns during their elaborate courtship displays.

Sadly, several Tragopan species are under growing pressure from habitat loss and hunting.

🧵👇

🤝 BopCo and JEMU are initiatives of @naturalsciences-be.bsky.social (Brussels, Belgium) and the AfricaMuseum (Tervuren, Belgium), funded by @belspo.be.

🔗 www.bopco.be

🔗 www.jemu.be

BopCo and JEMU are using genetic tools, COI barcodes and SNP data, to trace the flies’ origins and deliver fast insights to authorities.

🌱 Want to help? Applications open this spring to host a fly trap at home for summer 2026!

More info on how to participate: www.africamuseum.be/en/get_invol...

🌏 Native to Southeast Asia, it has now reached Europe, with several specimens recently found in Belgium, likely through imported fruit.

That's why the PESTFLY project was launched, a collaboration between BopCo, JEMU, ILVO and CRA-W, funded by the @fodvolksgezondheid.bsky.social.

Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis

Trap to catch fruit flies

📢 Spotlight on a silent agricultural threat: the Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis)

While hornets and beetles often steal the spotlight, the Oriental fruit fly is quietly spreading worldwide. Bactrocera dorsalis may be small, but it’s a powerful pest attacking many fruit and vegetable crops.

Interesting findings!

At BopCo, we did a similar study using DNA analysis to investigate seafood mislabeling in Belgian supermarkets.

🐟🐚🦑🍣🦐

Stay tuned for our findings. Hopefully published later this year.

We are looking forward to presenting @bopco-be.bsky.social at the next iBOL Europe Community meeting on 26 January. Free to join!

ℹ️ iboleurope.org/community-me...

🤝 @uantwerpen.be || @naturalsciences-be.bsky.social || AfricaMuseum || @belspo.be

⚠️ The study provides crucial insights into the risks associated with the wild meat supply chain, emphasising the need for enhanced surveillance and mitigation strategies to prevent future zoonotic spillovers.

🌍 The screened species were traded for their meat in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Brussels, Belgium, underlining the global nature of this issue.

🦍 Among the species tested were primates, rodents, hyraxes, artiodactyls, and carnivores. Notably, they found:
• Human picobirnavirus
• Simian foamy viruses
• Rotavirus A
— all posing potential risks for human infection. Several of these viruses were detected in new mammal hosts for the first time.

🔬 Researchers screened 101 samples from 28 wild African mammals and one domesticated species and identified 16 virus strains, some closely related to known zoonotic pathogens, viruses that can jump from animals to humans.

🚨 Hidden viruses in the wild meat trade?

BopCo contributed to a metagenomic study led by the University of Antwerp and the University of Kisangani (DRC), uncovering surprising viral diversity in the wild meat supply chain.

📄 Read the full paper by Geraerts et al.: doi.org/10.1371/jour...

🤝 @naturalsciences-be.bsky.social || AfricaMuseum || @belspo.be

📚 Scientific output:
· 80+ identification reports
· 6 peer-reviewed scientific papers published, one under review
· 2 oral presentations & 6 posters
· Participation in 4 conferences & symposiums, and 2 working groups
· Multiple lab tours and workshops