Roost: Avian Influenza Host Genomics Resource

Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) causes mass mortality in poultry and wildlife, and puts already threatened species at further risk. Understanding differences in host susceptibility requires evidence currently scattered across publications, surveillance reports and genomic resources. We present Roost, a web resource that brings together more than 1,300 publications and reports, surveillance detections, and a catalogue of over 2,000 avian genome assemblies. Large language model-assisted literature analysis and comparative genomics link species, genes and molecular mechanisms to their supporting evidence. Around 51% of species with HPAI detections are not represented in the analysed corpus. Research concentrates on poultry, model organisms, and a small set of immune pathways. Research tracks neither mortality magnitude nor extinction risk; species with the largest recorded die-offs and threatened hosts alike remain largely unstudied. Roost makes this evidence, along with genome analyses, accessible to researchers and conservation practitioners, connecting documented disease with host biology and highlighting priorities for sequencing and functional research. Roost is available at http://josephguhlin.com/Roost