Analysis of p67 allelic sequences reveals a subtype of allele type 1 unique to buffalo-derived Theileria parva parasites from southern Africa

AbstractEast Coast fever (ECF) and Corridor disease (CD) caused by cattle- and buffalo-derived T. parva respectively are the most economically important tick-borne diseases of cattle in the affected African countries. The p67 gene has been evaluated as a recombinant subunit vaccine against East Coast fever (ECF), and for discrimination of T. parva parasites causing ECF and Corridor disease (CD). The p67 allele type 1 was first identified in cattle-derived T. parva parasites from east Africa, where parasites possessing this allele type have been associated with ECF. Subsequent characterization of buffalo-derived T. parva parasites from South Africa where ECF was eradicated, revealed the presence of a similar allele type, raising concerns as to whether or not allele type 1 from parasites from the two regions is identical. A 900 bp central fragment of the gene encoding p67 was PCR amplified from T. parva DNA extracted from blood collected from cattle and buffalo in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, followed by DNA sequence analysis. Four p67 allele types previously described were identified. A subtype of p67 allele type 1 was identified in parasites from clinical cases of CD and buffalo from southern Africa. Notably, p67 allele type 1 sequences from parasites associated with ECF in East Africa and CD in Kenya were identical. Analysis of two p67 B-cell epitopes (TpM12 and AR22.7) revealed amino acid substitutions in allele type 1 from buffalo-derived T. parva parasites from southern Africa. However, both epitopes were conserved in allele type 1 from cattle- and buffalo-derived T. parva parasites from East Africa. These findings reveal detection of a subtype of p67 allele type 1 associated with T. parva parasites transmissible from buffalo to cattle in southern Africa.

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Full-Length Genome Characterization of HIV Type 1 Subtype C Isolates from Two Slow-Progressing Perinatally Infected Siblings in South Africa

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses ◽

10.1089/088922203322588396 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 19 (11) ◽

pp. 1033-1037 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

M. A. Papathanasopoulos ◽

T. Patience ◽

T. M. Meyers ◽

F. E. McCutchan ◽

L. Morris

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Full Length ◽

Subtype C ◽

Genome Characterization ◽

Perinatally Infected ◽

Hiv Type 1 ◽

Full Length Genome

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East Coast Fever

Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies - Combating and Controlling Nagana and Tick-Borne Diseases in Livestock ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-6433-2.ch009 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 195-220

Author(s):

Sammy Gichuhi Ndungu ◽

Sebastian K. Waruri ◽

James M. Wanjohi

Keyword(s):

Southern Africa ◽

East Coast ◽

Protozoan Parasite ◽

Rhipicephalus Appendiculatus ◽

East Coast Fever ◽

Therapeutic Drugs ◽

Major Constraint ◽

Drug Companies ◽

Ear Tick ◽

The Cost

East coast fever, a disease of cattle caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva and transmitted by the three-host tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (the brown ear tick), is a major constraint to cattle production in Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa. In Kenya it is the most important tick-borne disease and a major constraint in cattle productivity. This is due to the high morbidity and mortality it causes in susceptible herds, the cost of control of the vector ticks, and the cost of treatment of clinical cases. Animals that recover from the disease also suffer from reduced productivity which can be long term. The limited distribution of the tick and the disease to only East, Central and Southern Africa also means that the market for therapeutic drugs and acaricides is small. Therefore, drug companies are not keen on funding research and development of new drug and acaricide molecules when resistance occurs.

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The Blue Copper-Containing Nitrite Reductase fromAlcaligenes xylosoxidans: Cloning of the nirAGene and Characterization of the Recombinant Enzyme

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.181.8.2323-2329.1999 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 181 (8) ◽

pp. 2323-2329 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Miguel Prudêncio ◽

Robert R. Eady ◽

Gary Sawers

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Nitrite Reductase ◽

Recombinant Enzyme ◽

Leader Peptide ◽

Resonance Spectroscopy ◽

Gene Encoding ◽

Blue Copper

ABSTRACT The nirA gene encoding the blue dissimilatory nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes xylosoxidans has been cloned and sequenced. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the characterization of a gene encoding a blue copper-containing nitrite reductase. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibits a high degree of similarity to other copper-containing nitrite reductases from various bacterial sources. The full-length protein included a 24-amino-acid leader peptide. The nirA gene was overexpressed inEscherichia coli and was shown to be exported to the periplasm. Purification was achieved in a single step, and analysis of the recombinant Nir enzyme revealed that cleavage of the signal peptide occurred at a position identical to that for the native enzyme isolated from A. xylosoxidans. The recombinant Nir isolated directly was blue and trimeric and, on the basis of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and metal analysis, possessed only type 1 copper centers. This type 2-depleted enzyme preparation also had a low nitrite reductase enzyme activity. Incubation of the periplasmic fraction with copper sulfate prior to purification resulted in the isolation of an enzyme with a full complement of type 1 and type 2 copper centers and a high specific activity. The kinetic properties of the recombinant enzyme were indistinguishable from those of the native nitrite reductase isolated from A. xylosoxidans. This rapid isolation procedure will greatly facilitate genetic and biochemical characterization of both wild-type and mutant derivatives of this protein.

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Taxonomic Review of the perciform fish genus Acanthistius from the east coast of southern Africa, with description of a new species and designation of a neotype for Serranus sebastoides Castelnau, 1861

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.2352.1.4 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2352 (1) ◽

pp. 59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

PHILLIP C. HEEMSTRA

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

New Species ◽

South America ◽

Southern Africa ◽

East Coast ◽

Valid Species ◽

Shallow Waters ◽

Single Specimen ◽

Warm Temperate ◽

A New Species

The genus Acanthistius Gill, 1862 comprises ten putative valid species occurring in shallow warm-temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere: South America (coasts of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina) southern Africa (Namibia and South Africa), southern Australia, New Zealand, Lord Howe, Norfolk, Kermadec and Easter, and Sala y Gómez islands. Two species: Acanthistius sebastoides (Castelnau, 1861) and Acanthistius sp are known from shallow waters of the east coast of South Africa (Heemstra and Randall, 1986). The latter taxon, previously known from a brief description of a single specimen, is here described from 23 specimens and named Acanthistius joanae. Acanthistius sebastoides is redescribed from 13 specimens and compared with A. joanae and species of Acanthistius known from South America and Australia. A neotype is designated for Serranus sebastoides Castelnau, 1861, as the two syntypes are apparently lost.

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The Common Law in Lesotho

Journal of African Law ◽

10.1017/s0021855300003235 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 127-144

Author(s):

Sebastian Poulter

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

East Africa ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Legal System ◽

Common Law ◽

The Subject ◽

The Common ◽

English Law ◽

The Republic

Whereas the reception and operation of English law in West and East Africa have been the subject of much study over the last few years, the introduction and application of Roman-Dutch law in Southern Africa (apart from South Africa itself) have received scant treatment.1 This article deals only with the position in Lesotho and attempts to show the extent to which Lesotho's legal system is tied to that of the Republic of South Africa, and thus strengthens the geographical and economic bonds which link the two countries.

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Portugal’s Resistance to Decolonization and the “White Redoubt” (1950–1974)

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.734 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Luís Barroso

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Great Britain ◽

Southern Africa ◽

The United States ◽

Political Support ◽

African Countries ◽

International Pressure ◽

War Effort ◽

Southern Rhodesia ◽

Overseas Territories

Portugal’s resistance to decolonization lasted from the mid-1950s until the fall of the regime in April 1974, and it helps to explain why Portugal fought thirteen years of war in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea. Contrary to other colonial powers, the Portuguese rulers were not willing to accept the winds of change nor to meet the demands for the self-determination of its overseas territories that had swept Africa and Asia from the early 1950s. Several factors can explain the inflexibility of Lisbon to accept them, ranging from the ideological nature of the New State; from the strategic context of the Cold War due to the importance of the Azores islands for the United States and NATO; or from Portugal’s alliance with Great Britain. When the war broke out in Angola, and the Indian Union seized the “Portuguese India” territories in 1961, prime-minister Salazar did not receive the political support he expected from Washington and London as traditional allies. In early 1962, Salazar decided to strengthen relations with South Africa and Rhodesia in an attempt to maintain white rule in its overseas territories amidst a drive for independence by African nationalists, so-called “white redoubt,” that was the terminology used by the Kennedy administration to refer to the set of African countries and territories dominated by white minority governments: Angola, Mozambique, Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. Strengthened ties would aid his strategy to keep the war effort in Africa by taking advantage of the importance of Angola and Mozambique to the security of South Africa. In 1964, Salazar encouraged Ian Smith to unilaterally declare independence from Great Britain to link Angola and Mozambique to the Southern Africa Security Complex led by South Africa, despite widespread criticism of the apartheid in the United Nations (UN). Concurrently, Lisbon tried to seduce Hastings Banda and Kenneth Kaunda in expelling the liberation movements from Malawi and Zambia in exchange for granting transit facilities to ease the international pressure with regards to its colonial policy. Following several years of military collaboration, in October 1970, Portugal, South Africa, and Rhodesia established a military alliance codenamed “Exercise ALCORA,” which aimed to coordinate the global efforts against the insurgency in Southern Africa. Portugal used the ALCORA to obtain substantial aid in the form of military equipment and financial support, which Portugal needed to keep the war effort in the three African territories. In early 1974, Caetano channeled the South African loan to prevent a significant setback in Guinea, because if it were lost, Mozambique and Angola would follow, and consequently the regime.

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History of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology in Southern Africa

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.138 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Clinton Gahwiler ◽

Lee Hill ◽

Valérie Grand’Maison

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Sport Psychology ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Global Knowledge ◽

African Region ◽

African Countries ◽

Private Funding ◽

Performance Psychology ◽

Multicultural Environment ◽

And Performance

Since the 1970s, significant growth globally has occurred in the related fields of sport, exercise, and performance psychology. In Southern Africa, however, this growth has occurred unevenly and, other than isolated pockets of interest, there has been little teaching, research, or practice. South Africa is an exception, however, even during the years of apartheid. A number of international sport psychology pioneers in fact visited South Africa during the 1970s on sponsored trips. Virtually all this activity took place in the economically advantaged sectors of the country, and it is only since the end of apartheid in 1994 that applied services have been extended to the economically disadvantaged areas through both government and private funding. The 2010s have also seen a growing awareness in other Southern African countries, which have begun sporadically using (mainly foreign-based) sport psychology consultants. Among these countries, Botswana is currently leading the way in developing locally based expertise. Throughout the Southern African region, sport, exercise, and performance psychology remain organizationally underdeveloped and unregulated. Local researchers and practitioners in the field face unique challenges, including a multicultural environment and a lack of resources. In working to overcome these challenges, however, they have the potential to significantly add value to the global knowledge base of sport, exercise, and performance psychology.

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The importance of English communication skills in multilingual settings in Southern Africa

English Today ◽

10.1017/s0266078409990277 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 49-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ingrid Fandrych

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Sense Of Self ◽

The United States ◽

Official Language ◽

Political Struggle ◽

African Countries ◽

The Status ◽

Official Languages ◽

Language Issues

ABSTRACTAn account of the need for appropriate language skills in a developing multilingual context.Language issues in Southern Africa have always been marked by political struggle. In South Africa, these were sometimes violent, as with, for example, the 1976 Soweto uprisings, in which protests over the medium of education were prominent. One of the priorities of the first democratically elected government of 1994 was to democratise the situation by making eleven languages official, in contrast to the two prior to that, namely Afrikaans and English. In other Southern African countries, language issues have also been characterised by debates and struggles. A prime example is the decision by the Namibian government to make English the official language of the country, even though English had never even been a colonial language in Namibia. Another example is Lesotho, a former British protectorate, with two official languages, English and Sesotho. In the last two decades, there have been numerous debates about the status of English as a subject necessary for a pass in schools and as a prerequisite for admission to university. Kramsch's observation that ‘[l]inguistic wars are always also political and cultural wars’ captures the situation well. Language issues are still on many speakers' minds and influence their sense of self and identity. As Baugh observes, ‘[i]n societies like the United States and South Africa, where race and language development have strongly been influenced by racial strife, many students do not aspire to “talk like Whites”’.

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