Insights into the Middle Eastern paternal genetic pool in Tunisia: high prevalence of T-M70 haplogroup in an Arab population

AbstractTo obtain refreshed insights into the paternal lineages of Tunisian populations, Y-chromosome diversity was assessed in two populations belonging to an Arab genealogical lineage, Kairouan and Wesletia, as well as in four Tunisian Andalusian populations, Testour, Slouguia, Qalaat-El-Andalous and El Alia. The Arabs from Kairouan revealed 73.47% of E-M81 and close affinities with Berber groups, indicating they are likely arabized Berbers, clearly differentiated from the Arabs from Wesletia, who harbored the highest frequency (71.8%) of the Middle Eastern component ever observed in North Africa. In the Tunisian Andalusians, the North African component largely prevailed, followed by the Middle Eastern contribution. Global comparative analysis highlighted the heterogeneity of Tunisian populations, among which, as a whole, dominated a set of lineages ascribed to be of autochthonous Berber origin (71.67%), beside a component of essentially Middle Eastern extraction (18.35%), and signatures of Sub-Saharan (5.2%), European (3.45%) and Asiatic (1.33%) contributions. The remarkable frequency of T-M70 in Wesletia (17.4%) prompted to refine its phylogeographic analysis, allowing to confirm its Middle Eastern origin, though signs of local evolution in Northern Africa were also detected. Evidence was clear on the ancient introduction of T lineages into the region, probably since Neolithic times associated to spread of agriculture.

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The sickle gene polymorphism in North Africa

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v58.3.599.599 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 599-601 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

JG Mears ◽

C Beldjord ◽

M Benabadji ◽

Ya Belghiti ◽

MA Baddou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North Africa ◽

Globin Gene ◽

Beta Globin ◽

North African ◽

Arab Population ◽

Beta Globin Gene ◽

Gene Linkage ◽

S Gene ◽

The North ◽

North African Population

Abstract Analysis of the restriction endonuclease Hpa 1-beta globin gene linkage has been performed in a predominantly Arab population of North Africa possessing the sickle (beta A) gene is found associated with a 7.6 kilobase) or 7.0 kb Hpa 1 fragment (54/54 assignable beta A genes), whereas the beta S gene is found associated with a 13 kb Hpa 1 fragment (42/42 assignable beta S genes). The results demonstrate a very tight linkage of the beta S gene to the 13 kb Hpa 1 fragment as well as a very low probability that a beta A gene will be found on a 13 kb Hpa 1 fragment. Thus, the North African population presents a nearly ideal opportunity for prenatal diagnosis solely by Hpa 1-beta globin gene linkage analysis. Additionally, the evidence supports the hypothesis that the beta S gene flowed from West Africa rather than from Arab populations in the Middle East.

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Identification of novel canine rabies virus clades in the Middle East and North Africa

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.82352-0 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 88 (3) ◽

pp. 967-980 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Dan David ◽

Gareth J. Hughes ◽

Boris A. Yakobson ◽

Irit Davidson ◽

Hikmat Un ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Middle East ◽

Rabies Virus ◽

North Africa ◽

Middle Eastern ◽

N Gene ◽

North African ◽

Canine Rabies ◽

The North ◽

Gene Alignment ◽

Nucleoprotein N

Four novel phylogenetic clades of canine rabies virus (RABV) variants have been identified in the Middle East and North Africa. The three novel Middle Eastern clades comprise RABV isolates from the borders between Israel and neighbouring countries. The North African clade (Africa 4) comprises four RABV isolates from Egypt and one from Israel. We characterized various RABV lineages antigenically by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies to the nucleoprotein (N) and phylogenetically by analysis of entire N gene sequences. The estimated mean substitution rate for the N gene alignment (2.7×10−4 substitutions per site per year) is comparable with previous estimates for RABV. The application of a molecular clock indicates the emergence of current canine RABV diversity to have occurred at about the same time (approx. 1870) in the Middle East and Europe, following divergence from established lineages in Africa and Asia.

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The sickle gene polymorphism in North Africa

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v58.3.599.bloodjournal583599 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 599-601

Author(s):

JG Mears ◽

C Beldjord ◽

M Benabadji ◽

Ya Belghiti ◽

MA Baddou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North Africa ◽

Globin Gene ◽

Beta Globin ◽

North African ◽

Arab Population ◽

Beta Globin Gene ◽

Gene Linkage ◽

S Gene ◽

The North ◽

North African Population

Analysis of the restriction endonuclease Hpa 1-beta globin gene linkage has been performed in a predominantly Arab population of North Africa possessing the sickle (beta A) gene is found associated with a 7.6 kilobase) or 7.0 kb Hpa 1 fragment (54/54 assignable beta A genes), whereas the beta S gene is found associated with a 13 kb Hpa 1 fragment (42/42 assignable beta S genes). The results demonstrate a very tight linkage of the beta S gene to the 13 kb Hpa 1 fragment as well as a very low probability that a beta A gene will be found on a 13 kb Hpa 1 fragment. Thus, the North African population presents a nearly ideal opportunity for prenatal diagnosis solely by Hpa 1-beta globin gene linkage analysis. Additionally, the evidence supports the hypothesis that the beta S gene flowed from West Africa rather than from Arab populations in the Middle East.

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Identification and Characterization of the Most Common Genetic Variant Responsible for Acephalic Spermatozoa Syndrome in Men Originating from North Africa

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22042187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 2187

Author(s):

Caroline Cazin ◽

Yasmine Boumerdassi ◽

Guillaume Martinez ◽

Selima Fourati Ben Mustapha ◽

Marjorie Whitfield ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

North Africa ◽

Posterior Part ◽

North African ◽

The North ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Variant Filtering ◽

North African Population ◽

Sperm Nuclei

Acephalic spermatozoa syndrome (ASS) is a rare but extremely severe type of teratozoospermia, defined by the presence of a majority of headless flagella and a minority of tail-less sperm heads in the ejaculate. Like the other severe monomorphic teratozoospermias, ASS has a strong genetic basis and is most often caused by bi-allelic variants in SUN5 (Sad1 and UNC84 domain-containing 5). Using whole exome sequencing (WES), we investigated a cohort of nine infertile subjects displaying ASS. These subjects were recruited in three centers located in France and Tunisia, but all originated from North Africa. Sperm from subjects carrying candidate genetic variants were subjected to immunofluorescence analysis and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on sperm nuclei to assess their chromosomal content. Variant filtering permitted us to identify the same SUN5 homozygous frameshift variant (c.211+1_211+2dup) in 7/9 individuals (78%). SUN5 encodes a protein localized on the posterior part of the nuclear envelope that is necessary for the attachment of the tail to the sperm head. Immunofluorescence assays performed on sperm cells from three mutated subjects revealed a total absence of SUN5, thus demonstrating the deleterious impact of the identified variant on protein expression. Transmission electron microscopy showed a conserved flagellar structure and a slightly decondensed chromatin. FISH did not highlight a higher rate of chromosome aneuploidy in spermatozoa from SUN5 patients compared to controls, indicating that intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be proposed for patients carrying the c.211+1_211+2dup variant. These results suggest that the identified SUN5 variant is the main cause of ASS in the North African population. Consequently, a simple and inexpensive genotyping of the 211+1_211+2dup variant could be beneficial for affected men of North African origin before resorting to more exhaustive genetic analyses.

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Courage and Cowardice in the North African Campaign: The Eighth Army and Defeat in the Summer of 1942

War in History ◽

10.1177/0968344512454251 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 99-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jonathan Fennell

Keyword(s):

North Africa ◽

The State ◽

The Other ◽

Human Dimension ◽

North African ◽

The North ◽

High Level ◽

Eighth Army

High rates of desertion and surrender during the battles in North Africa in the summer of 1942 were a major factor in Eighth Army’s poor combat performance. At the time, some suggested that these problems were symptomatic of a lack of courage or even of cowardice. There are two broad strands to the conceptualization of courage and cowardice. One focuses on the willingness of the person to fight; the other puts emphasis on how actions express an individual’s ability to cope with fear. Whichever conceptualization is used, high morale motivates the soldier to fight and shields the ordinary recruit from his fear, preventing it from overcoming him in battle. Where morale fails, the soldier is left demotivated and burdened with his terror and, therefore, and is therefore prone to desertion or surrender. Because it is extremely difficult to maintain morale at a continuously high level in an environment governed by chance and managed by humans, all soldiers can find themselves in situations where their actions may be judged as cowardly. Alternatively, if they are properly motivated to fight and prepared by the state and military to deal with the unavoidable fear of combat, all soldiers can be labelled courageous. Accordingly, emotive terms should be avoided when attempting to describe rationally explainable outcomes. The undoubtedly negative connotations attached to cowardice in battle and the positive ones attached to courage are, therefore, arguably unhelpful in understanding Eighth Army’s performance in the summer of 1942 and the human dimension in warfare more generally.

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The North African “Extremistan” of the Islamic State Caliphate

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION ◽

10.1515/kbo-2016-0002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 10-13

Author(s):

Adrian Cosmin Basarabă ◽

Maria-Mihaela Nistor

Keyword(s):

Middle East ◽

Real Estate ◽

North Africa ◽

Islamic State ◽

North African ◽

Boko Haram ◽

Ongoing Process ◽

The North ◽

Terrorist Groups ◽

Cellular Matrices

Abstract This article aims at presenting ISIS expansion in North Africa in the first quarter of 2016, with its subsequent implication in the wider framework of Jihadist proliferation worldwide. It can be argued that, while losing real estate in the Middle East, ISIS has started a permanent search for extra-cellular matrices or an ongoing process of de- and reterritorialization. The allegiance and support pledged by other African-based terrorist groups or organizations such as Boko Haram, al-I’tisam of the Koran and Sunnah in Sudan, al-Huda Battalion in Maghreb of Islam, The Soldiers of the Caliphate, al-Ghurabaa, Djamaat Houmat ad-Da’wa as-Salafiya and al-Ansar Battalion in Algeria, Islamic Youth Shura Council, Islamic State Libya (Darnah), in Libya, Jamaat Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, Jund al-Khilafah and Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem in Egypt, Okba Ibn Nafaa Battalion, Mujahideen of Tunisia of Kairouan and Jund al-Khilafah in Tunisia and al-Shabaab Jubba Region Cell Bashir Abu Numan in Somalia is an alarming hypothesis of Jihadism reaching “the threshold of inevitability”- syntagm existent in the network theories of David Singh Grewal- turning a whole region, continent of even world into what Nassim Nicholas Taleb would call Extremistan.

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Paths of Prayers in Ottoman North Africa

Journal of Islamic Manuscripts ◽

10.1163/1878464x-01203006 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3-4) ◽

pp. 295-341

Author(s):

Deniz Beyazit

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Seventeenth Century ◽

Ottoman Empire ◽

North Africa ◽

Complex Dynamics ◽

North African ◽

The North ◽

Local Traditions ◽

First Time ◽

Visual Apparatus

Abstract This article discusses The Met’s unpublished Dalāʾil al-khayrāt—2017.301—(MS New York, TMMA 2017.301), together with a group of comparable manuscripts. The earliest known dated manuscript within the corpus, it introduces several iconographic elements that are new to the Dalāʾil, and which compare with the traditions developing in the Mashriq and the Ottoman world in particular. The article discusses Dalāʾil production in seventeenth-century North Africa and its development in the Ottoman provinces, Tunisia, and/or Algeria. The manuscripts illustrate how an Ottoman visual apparatus—among which the theme of the holy sanctuaries at Mecca and Medina, appearing for the first time in MS New York, TMMA 2017.301—is established for Muhammadan devotion in Maghribī Dalāʾils. The manuscripts belong to the broader historic, social, and artistic contexts of Ottoman North Africa. Our analysis captures the complex dynamics of Ottomanization of the North African provinces of the Ottoman Empire, remaining strongly rooted in their local traditions, while engaging with Ottoman visual idioms.

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Decolonization and Migration

Muslims and Jews in France ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691125817.003.0003 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Maud S. Mandel

Keyword(s):

North Africa ◽

North African ◽

Social Actors ◽

The North ◽

Wide Range ◽

French Colonial ◽

Colonial Policies ◽

And Migration ◽

Jewish Populations ◽

The Way

This chapter builds on the link between French colonial policies and Muslim–Jewish relations in the metropole by tracing how decolonization throughout North Africa changed the way a diverse set of social actors, including French colonial administrators, international Jewish spokesmen, and a wide range of indigenous nationalist groups conceptualized Jewish belonging throughout the region. It argues that the process led to the emergence of the “North African Jew,” a category to which no individual ascribed but that worked rhetorically to unite the diverse Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian Jewish populations into a collective often understood to be in conflict with “North Africans,” “Muslims,” or “Arabs.”

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