Search

The porcellanid crab Lissoporcellana demani Dong & Li, 2014 is reported for the first time from southeast Africa, based on material collected from trawls off Mozambique during the International Indian Ocean Expedition in 1963-1964. Lissoporcellana demani has been known only from the western Pacific, and the present specimens greatly extend the previously known distribution range of this species to the western Indian Ocean. Illustrations of a specimen are provided. Morphological variations of L. demani and characters distinguishing it from closely related congeneric species are discussed. Résumé: A partir de matériel collecté par chalutage au large du Mozambique au cours de l'Expédition Internationale de l'Océan Indien en 1963-64, le crabe porcellanidé Lissoporcellana demani Dong & Li, 2014 est signalé pour la première fois dans le sud-est de l'Afrique. Lissoporcellana demani était seulement connu dans l'ouest du Pacifique, et ces spécimens étendent considérablement l'aire de distribution, connue précédemment pour cette espèce, vers l'ouest de l'Océan Indien. Des illustrations d'un spécimen sont fournies. Les variations morphologiques de L. demani et les caractères distinctifs par rapport aux espèces proches du même genre sont discutés. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CLEC4M is a C-type lectin gene serving as cell adhesion receptor and pathogen recognition receptor. It recognizes several pathogens of important public health concern. In particular, a highly polymorphic variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) at the neck-region of CLEC4M had been associated with genetic predisposition to some infectious diseases. To gain insight into the origin and evolution of this VNTR in CLEC4M, we studied 21 Africans, 20 Middle Easterns, 35 Europeans, 38 Asians, 13 Oceania, and 18 Americans (a total of 290 chromosomes) from the (Human Genome Diversity Panel) HGDP-CEPH panel; these samples covered most of alleles of this VNTR locus present in human populations. We identified a limited number of haplotypes among the basic repeat subunits that is 69 base pairs in length. Only 8 haplotypes were found. Their sequence identities were determined in the 290 chromosomes. VNTR alleles of different repeat length (from 4 to 9 repeats) were analyzed for composition and orientation of these subunits. Our results showed that the subunit configuration of the same repeat number of VNTR locus from different populations were, in fact, virtually identical. It implies that most of the VNTR alleles existed before dispersion of modern humans outside Africa. Further analyses indicate that the present diversity profile of this locus in worldwide populations is generated from the effect of migration of different tribes and neutral evolution. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that the origin of the VNTR alleles were arisen by independent (separate) mutation events and caused by differential allele advantage and natural selection as suggested by previous report based on SNP data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the colonization of the world, after dispersal out of African, modern humans encountered changeable environments and substantial phenotypic variations that involve diverse behaviors, lifestyles and cultures, were generated among the different modern human populations. Results: Here, we study the level of population differentiation among different populations of human genes. Intriguingly, genes involved in osteoblast development were identified as being enriched with higher FST SNPs, a result consistent with the proposed role of the skeletal system in accounting for variation among human populations. Genes involved in the development of hair follicles, where hair is produced, were also found to have higher levels of population differentiation, consistent with hair morphology being a distinctive trait among human populations. Other genes that showed higher levels of population differentiation include those involved in pigmentation, spermatid, nervous system and organ development, and some metabolic pathways, but few involved with the immune system. Disease-related genes demonstrate excessive SNPs with lower levels of population differentiation, probably due to purifying selection. Surprisingly, we find that Mendelian-disease genes appear to have a significant excessive of SNPs with high levels of population differentiation, possibly because the incidence and susceptibility of these diseases show differences among populations. As expected, microRNA regulated genes show lower levels of population differentiation due to purifying selection. Conclusion: Our analysis demonstrates different level of population differentiation among human populations for different gene groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human skeletal system has evolved rapidly since the dispersal of modern humans from Africa, potentially driven by selection and adaptation. Osteogenin (BMP3) plays an important role in skeletal development and bone osteogenesis as an antagonist of the osteogenic bone morphogenetic proteins, and negatively regulates bone mineral density. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we resequenced the BMP3 gene from individuals in four geographically separated modern human populations. Features supportive of positive selection in the BMP3 gene were found including the presence of an excess of nonsynonymous mutations in modern humans, and a significantly lower genetic diversity that deviates from neutrality. The prevalent haplotypes of the first exon region in Europeans demonstrated features of long-range haplotype homogeneity. In contrast with findings in European, the derived allele SNP Arg192Gln shows higher extended haplotype homozygosity in East Asian. The worldwide allele frequency distribution of SNP shows not only a high-derived allele frequency in Asians, but also in Americans, which is suggestive of functional adaptation. Conclusions/Significance: In conclusion, we provide evidence for recent positive selection operating upon a crucial gene in skeletal development, which may provide new insight into the evolution of the skeletal system and bone development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organized flaking techniques to obtain predetermined stone tools have been traced back to the early Acheulean (also known as mode 2) in Africa and are seen as indicative of the emergence of advanced technical abilities and in-depth planning skills among early humans. Here, we report one of the earliest known examples of prepared core technology in the archaeological record, at the Cenjiawan (CJW) site in the Nihewan basin of China, dated 1.1 Mya. The operational schemes reconstructed from the CJW refit sets, together with shaping patterns observed in the retouched tools, suggest that Nihewan basin toolmakers had the technical abilities of mode 2 hominins, and developed different survival strategies to adapt to local raw materials and environments. This finding predates the previously earliest known prepared core technology from Eurasia by 0.3 My, and the earliest known mode 2 sites in East Asia by a similar amount of time, thus suggesting that hominins with advanced technologies may have migrated into high latitude East Asia as early as 1.1 Mya., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Donkeys transformed human history as essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially across semi-arid and upland environments. They remain insufficiently studied despite globally expanding and providing key support to low- to middle-income communities. To elucidate their domestication history, we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids. We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa ~5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa. We uncover a previously unknown genetic lineage in the Levant ~200 BCE, which contributed increasing ancestry toward Asia. Donkey management involved inbreeding and the production of giant bloodlines at a time when mules were essential to the Roman economy and military.

The geographic origin and migration of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) remain subjects of considerable debate. In this study, we sequenced whole genomes of 110 wild brown rats with a diverse world-wide representation. We reveal that brown rats migrated out of southern East Asia, rather than northern Asia as formerly suggested, into the Middle East and then to Europe and Africa, thousands of years ago. Comparison of genomes from different geographical populations reveals that many genes involved in the immune system experienced positive selection in the wild brown rat., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: To summarize the clinical characteristics of imported falciparum malaria patients and the treatment, so as to provide the evidences for improving the diagnosis and treatment of the disease., Methods: A total of 138 imported falciparum malaria patients who received the treatment in Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases from January 2007 to February 2013 were adopted as the observation subjects, and their clinical data were collected and analyzed., Results: All the 138 patients were back from African countries. The main manifestations were fever, headache, asthenia, and hepatosplenomegaly, and most of them were with decreased RBC, PLT levels and increased LDH levels, and 36.96% of them were misdiagnosed as respiratory diseases, nephritis, hepatitis and so on. Through antimalarial treatment of artemether or artesunate or dihydroartemisinin and primaquine, or dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine, and symptomatic treatment, the short-term and long-term cure rates were 98.55% and 94.93% respectively, with 1 case unrecovered and 1 died., Conclusions: Artemisinins are still the most effective antimalarial drugs for falciparum malaria. However, some patients recrudesce as the Plasmodium in their body is resistant or insensitive to these drugs. We should pay more attention to the antimalarial and symptomatic treatments in the early stage of severe malaria so as to improve the cure rate.