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To assess the correlation and find out the direct and indirect effect of yield attributing traits on yield, twenty six accessions and four varieties during the off-season period from November 2016 to May 2017 under irrigation. at Dire dawa, Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted using RCBD design with three replications. Plant height, primary branch per plot, days to fifty percent flowering, stem width, number of fruit per plant, fruit length, days to maturity and number of fruit per plant were positive and highly significantly correlated with dry fruit yield per plot at both genotypic and phenotypic correlation. Plant height (0.1081), number of fruit per plant (0.2610), fruit length (0.4293), stem width (0.4059), pedicel length (0.0122), days to maturity (0.0401) and internode length (0.0227) exerted positive direct effect on dry fruit yield per plot at phenotypic level. Genotypic path analysis showed that days to fifty percent flowering (0.0956), stem width (0.5867), fruit length (0.3671), plant height (0.0754), number of fruit per plant (0.2673) and internode length (0.0079)had positive direct effect. The direct effect of these characters on dry fruit yield per plot indicates that improvement on these traits may increase yield.

The rich linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity of Ethiopia provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand the level to which cultural factors correlate with–and shape–genetic structure in human populations. Using primarily new genetic variation data covering 1,214 Ethiopians representing 68 different ethnic groups, together with information on individuals’ birthplaces, linguistic/religious practices and 31 cultural practices, we disentangle the effects of geographic distance, elevation, and social factors on the genetic structure of Ethiopians today. We provide evidence of associations between social behaviours and genetic differences among present-day peoples. We show that genetic similarity is broadly associated with linguistic affiliation, but also identify pronounced genetic similarity among groups from disparate language classifications that may in part be attributable to recent intermixing. We also illustrate how groups reporting the same culture traits are more genetically similar on average and show evidence of recent intermixing, suggesting that shared cultural traits may promote admixture. In addition to providing insights into the genetic structure and history of Ethiopia, we identify the most important cultural and geographic predictors of genetic differentiation and provide a resource for designing sampling protocols for future genetic studies involving Ethiopians., Ethiopia is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries. Here, the authors look at genetic and cultural variation in 1,214 Ethiopians to unravel the relationship between genetic admixture and cultural factors.

Background: Color vision deficiency or colorblindness, is the inability or reduced ability to distinguish different color spectra, particularly, red & green under normal lighting conditions with unaided eye. Redgreen colorblindness is heritable genetic disorder and most prevalent type of color vision deficiency and its incidence varies between different ethnicity and sex and shows disparity in different parts/regions of the world.Objectives: This study was conducted to find out the prevalence of colorblindness in Eastern part of Ethiopia and identify its distribution among Harari, Oromo and Ethio-Somali ethnic groups.Methods: A total of 2103 (1043 male & 1060 female) students belonging to the three ethnic groups were randomly selected from nine selected primary schools and were screened for color vision deficiency by using Ishihara’s tests for color vision deficiency and the data analysis was carried out with SPSS version 16.0.Results: Among those screened for color vision deficiency, 33 of them (1.6%) were diagnosed with colorblindness out of which 31 were male and 2 were female. Out of this; 15, 7 and 11 were from Harari, Oromo and Somali ethnicity respectively. The highest incidence was observed among Harari males (4.2%) and no color vision deficiency was recorded among Oromo females. Deuteronomally was the most frequent color vision defect detected (16, 48.5%) and protanopia was the least detected color vision deficiency with 4 cases (12.1%).Conclusion: Results from this study show similar prevalence rate with previously reported study in Ethiopia for Harari ethnic group but lower prevalence rates for Somali and Oromo ethnic groups. Early detection of colorblindness is important for children to select their future profession and take necessary precautions in their everyday activities. Families and other concerned bodies should also take the case of children with colorblindness into consideration while dealing with them.Keywords: Color vision deficiency, Red-green, Ishihara test, Eastern Ethiopia

The persistent expression of lactase into adulthood in humans is a recent genetic adaptation that allows the consumption of milk from other mammals after weaning. In Europe, a single allele (-13910(∗)T, rs4988235) in an upstream region that acts as an enhancer to the expression of the lactase gene LCT is responsible for lactase persistence and appears to have been under strong directional selection in the last 5,000 years, evidenced by the widespread occurrence of this allele on an extended haplotype. In Africa and the Middle East, the situation is more complicated and at least three other alleles (-13907(∗)G, rs41525747; -13915(∗)G, rs41380347; -14010(∗)C, rs145946881) in the same LCT enhancer region can cause continued lactase expression. Here we examine the LCT enhancer sequence in a large lactose-tolerance-tested Ethiopian cohort of more than 350 individuals. We show that a further SNP, -14009TG (ss 820486563), is significantly associated with lactose-digester status, and in vitro functional tests confirm that the -14009(∗)G allele also increases expression of an LCT promoter construct. The derived alleles in the LCT enhancer region are spread through several ethnic groups, and we report a greater genetic diversity in lactose digesters than in nondigesters. By examining flanking markers to control for the effects of mutation and demography, we further describe, from empirical evidence, the signature of a soft selective sweep.

Persistence of intestinal lactase into adulthood allows humans to use milk from other mammals as a source of food and water. This genetic trait has arisen by convergent evolution and the derived alleles of at least three different single nucleotide polymorphisms (-13910C>T, -13915T>G, -14010G>C) are associated with lactase persistence in different populations. Each allele occurs on an extended haplotype, consistent with positive directional selection. The SNPs are located in an 'enhancer' sequence in an intron of a neighboring gene (MCM6) and modulate lactase transcription in vitro. However, a number of lactase persistent individuals carry none of these alleles, but other low-frequency single nucleotide polymorphisms have been observed in the same region. Here we examine a cohort of 107 milk-drinking Somali camel-herders from Ethiopia. Eight polymorphic sites are identified in the enhancer. -13915*G and -13907*G (a previously reported candidate) are each significantly associated with lactase persistence. A new allele, -14009*G, has borderline association with lactase persistence, but loses significance after correction for multiple testing. Sequence diversity of the enhancer is significantly higher in the lactase persistent members of this and a second cohort compared with non-persistent members of the two groups (P = 7.7 x 10(-9) and 1.0 x 10(-3)). By comparing other loci, we show that this difference is not due to population sub-structure, demonstrating that increased diversity can accompany selection. This contrasts with the well-documented observation that positive selection decreases diversity by driving up the frequency of a single advantageous allele, and has implications for association studies.

Persistence or non-persistence of lactase expression into adult life is a polymorphic trait that has been attributed to a single nucleotide polymorphism (C-13910T) in an enhancer element 13.9 kb upstream of the lactase gene (LCT). The -13910*T allele occurs at very high frequency in northern Europeans as part of a very long haplotype (known as A), and promotes binding of the transcription factor Oct-1. However, -13910*T is at very low frequency in many African milk drinking pastoralist groups where lactase persistence phenotype has been reported at high frequency. We report here for the first time, a cohort study of lactose digester and non-digester Sudanese volunteers and show there is no association of -13910*T or the A haplotype with lactase persistence. We support this finding with new genotype/phenotype frequency comparisons in pastoralist groups of eastern African and Middle Eastern origin. Resequencing revealed three new SNPs in close proximity to -13910*T, two of which are within the Oct-1 binding site. The most frequent of these (-13915*G) is associated with lactose tolerance in the cohort study, providing evidence for a cis-acting effect. Despite its location, -13915*G abolishes, rather than enhances Oct-1 binding, indicating that this particular interaction is unlikely to be involved in lactase persistence. This study reveals the complexity of this phenotypic polymorphism and highlights the limitations of C-13910T as a diagnostic test for lactase persistence status, at least for people with non-European ancestry.

The predominantly African origin of all modern human populations is well established, but the route taken out of Africa is still unclear. Two alternative routes, via Egypt and Sinai or across the Bab el Mandeb strait into Arabia, have traditionally been proposed as feasible gateways in light of geographic, paleoclimatic, archaeological, and genetic evidence. Distinguishing among these alternatives has been difficult. We generated 225 whole-genome sequences (225 at 8× depth, of which 8 were increased to 30×; Illumina HiSeq 2000) from six modern Northeast African populations (100 Egyptians and five Ethiopian populations each represented by 25 individuals). West Eurasian components were masked out, and the remaining African haplotypes were compared with a panel of sub-Saharan African and non-African genomes. We showed that masked Northeast African haplotypes overall were more similar to non-African haplotypes and more frequently present outside Africa than were any sets of haplotypes derived from a West African population. Furthermore, the masked Egyptian haplotypes showed these properties more markedly than the masked Ethiopian haplotypes, pointing to Egypt as the more likely gateway in the exodus to the rest of the world. Using five Ethiopian and three Egyptian high-coverage masked genomes and the multiple sequentially Markovian coalescent (MSMC) approach, we estimated the genetic split times of Egyptians and Ethiopians from non-African populations at 55,000 and 65,000 years ago, respectively, whereas that of West Africans was estimated to be 75,000 years ago. Both the haplotype and MSMC analyses thus suggest a predominant northern route out of Africa via Egypt.

Africa being part of the global village is challenged by unprecedented and persistent emerging infectious diseases threats and outbreaks. Recent memories of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreaks in Saudi Arabia (2012) and South Korea (2015), West Africa Ebola viral disease outbreak and public health humanitarian crisis (2014) and China’s SARS outbreaks. Various differences and similarities between these diseases have triggered serious concerns and magnified that similar outbreaks could occur anywhere in the world with lingering health complications, socio-political and economic crises. Yet, there is dearth of knowledge on MERS-CoV reservoirs, risk factors of emergence, infectivity and transmissibility in Africa and globally. This paper highlights forward approaches and key activities to the African Union, governments and institutions and all stakeholders including public-private partnership. These play paramount roles in providing information and support to address MERS-CoV and other emerging infectious diseases research gaps, (2) promoting community alertness and resilience in preparedness, (3) fostering effective and coordinated logistics in risk communication, planning and response in MERS-CoV public mobilization literacy and awareness, advocacy and mitigation. There is an urgent need to establish an integrated and strategic evidence-based local and nationwide surveillance and response capacity, (5) better understand the MERS-CoV animal reservoir(s) and human-human infectivity and transmissibility, and (6) implement informed community-based or national threat and epidemics actionable emergency insurance facility and compensation schemes. Conclusively, improved early warning, active and integrated epidemiological and genomic surveillance indicators data gathering to inform and guide effective and community resilience capability in consolidating and upholding knowledge gains from “One Health Surveillance Network” and best practices in achieving “One Health” and global health security.

Given the importance of Africa to studies of human origins and disease susceptibility, detailed characterization of African genetic diversity is needed. The African Genome Variation Project provides a resource with which to design, implement and interpret genomic studies in sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide. The African Genome Variation Project represents dense genotypes from 1,481 individuals and whole-genome sequences from 320 individuals across sub-Saharan Africa. Using this resource, we find novel evidence of complex, regionally distinct hunter-gatherer and Eurasian admixture across sub-Saharan Africa. We identify new loci under selection, including loci related to malaria susceptibility and hypertension. We show that modern imputation panels (sets of reference genotypes from which unobserved or missing genotypes in study sets can be inferred) can identify association signals at highly differentiated loci across populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Using whole-genome sequencing, we demonstrate further improvements in imputation accuracy, strengthening the case for large-scale sequencing efforts of diverse African haplotypes. Finally, we present an efficient genotype array design capturing common genetic variation in Africa.