A southern African perspective on the co-evolution of early life and environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-252
Author(s):  
K. Hickman-Lewis ◽  
F. Westall
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Sulphur Cycle ◽  
Rock Record ◽  
Transvaal Supergroup ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
Pilbara Craton

Abstract The Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons host some of the earliest evidence for life. When compared to the contemporaneous East Pilbara craton, cherts and other metasedimentary horizons in southern Africa preserve traces of life with far greater morphological and geochemical fidelity. In spite of this, most fossiliferous horizons of southern Africa have received relatively limited attention. This review summarises current knowledge regarding the nature of early life and its distribution with respect to environments and ecosystems in the Archaean (>2.5 Ga) of the region, correlating stratigraphic, sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological understanding. There is abundant and compelling evidence for both anoxygenic photosynthetic and chemosynthetic biomes dominating Palaeoarchaean-Mesoarchaean strata dating back to around 3.5 Ga, and the prevalence of each is tied to palaeoenvironmental parameters deducible from the rock record. Well-developed, large stromatolites characteristic of younger Mesoarchaean-Neoarchaean sequences were probably constructed by oxygenic photosynthesisers. Isotopic evidence from the Belingwe greenstone belt and the Transvaal Supergroup indicates that both a full sulphur cycle and complex nitrogen cycling were in operation by the Mesoarchaean-Neoarchaean. The Archaean geological record of southern Africa is thus a rich repository of information regarding the co-evolving geosphere and biosphere in deep time.

3.43 billion-year-old stromatolite reef from the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia: Ecosystem-scale insights to early life on Earth

2007 ◽  
Vol 158 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 198-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail C. Allwood ◽  
Malcolm R. Walter ◽  
Ian W. Burch ◽  
Balz S. Kamber
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Pilbara Craton

Educating Highly Able Students from an African Perspective

2017 ◽  
pp. 161-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantine Ngara
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Gifted Education ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Practical Wisdom ◽  
Gifted Students ◽  
Talent Development ◽  
Interactive Process ◽  
Indigenous Cultures ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
Highly Able

Basing on Cabral's (1973) legendary practical wisdom to return to the source, in the quest to broaden existing understanding of giftedness and improve the education of gifted students, the chapter examines indigenous conceptions of giftedness espoused in Bantu cultures of southern Africa. As informed by insights gleaned from research on Ndebele, Shona and Vhenda cultures' views of giftedness, indigenous cultures' views warrant attention as they promise to enrich the education of gifted students in amazing and intriguing ways. The chapter offers specific recommendations for educating highly able students including a Dynamic and Interactive Process Model of Talent development (DIPM) grounded in indigenous cultures of southern Africa currently generating interest in gifted education.

Holistic Biodiversity Conservation in the Anthropocene: A Southern African Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-99
Author(s):  
W. D. Lubbe ◽  
Louis J. Kotzé
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
African Perspective ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Governance Institutions ◽  
Global Law ◽  
Worrying Trend ◽  
Biodiversity Governance

In the Anthropocene the loss of biodiversity is set to become increasingly critical. Our law and governance institutions have been unable to halt this worrying trend. One of the reasons for this regulatory deficiency is that global law and governance pertaining to biodiversity are fragmented. In response to the need for a greater integration of law and governance directed at the protection of an integrated biosphere and as a measure to counter fragmentation, we argue that global biodiversity law and governance should be based on the connectivity conservation approach. While the debate about connectivity could occur in various geographical contexts, we focus for our present purposes on regional biodiversity governance in Southern Africa. It is our central hypothesis that adopting a holistic approach to biodiversity conservation in this region might go a long way towards preventing the human encroachment on biodiversity that typifies the Anthropocene.

scholarly journals The Infant Gut Microbiota and Risk of Asthma: The Effect of Maternal Nutrition during Pregnancy and Lactation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naser A. Alsharairi
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Dietary Nutrient ◽  
Pregnancy And Lactation ◽  
Gut Microbiota Composition

Research has amply demonstrated that early life dysbiosis of the gut microbiota influences the propensity to develop asthma. The influence of maternal nutrition on infant gut microbiota is therefore of growing interest. However, a handful of prospective studies have examined the role of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy in influencing the infant gut microbiota but did not assess whether this resulted in an increased risk of asthma later in life. The mechanisms involved in the process are also, thus far, poorly documented. There have also been few studies examining the effect of maternal dietary nutrient intake during lactation on the milk microbiota, the effect on the infant gut microbiota and, furthermore, the consequences for asthma development remain largely unknown. Therefore, the specific aim of this mini review is summarizing the current knowledge regarding the effect of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation on the infant gut microbiota composition, and whether it has implications for asthma development.

The age and country rock provenance of the Molopo Farms Complex: implications for Transvaal Supergroup correlation in southern Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.J. Beukes ◽  
M.O. de Kock ◽  
C. Vorster ◽  
L.G. Ravhura ◽  
D. Frei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Country Rock ◽  
Transvaal Supergroup

scholarly journals Molecular Properties and New Potentials of Plant Nepenthesins

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 570
Author(s):  
Zelalem Eshetu Bekalu ◽  
Giuseppe Dionisio ◽  
Henrik Brinch-Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Carnivorous Plant ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Fungal Resistance ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Specific Sequence ◽  
Aspartic Proteases ◽  
Trait Improvement

Nepenthesins are aspartic proteases (APs) categorized under the A1B subfamily. Due to nepenthesin-specific sequence features, the A1B subfamily is also named nepenthesin-type aspartic proteases (NEPs). Nepenthesins are mostly known from the pitcher fluid of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes, where they are availed for the hydrolyzation of insect protein required for the assimilation of insect nitrogen resources. However, nepenthesins are widely distributed within the plant kingdom and play significant roles in plant species other than Nepenthes. Although they have received limited attention when compared to other members of the subfamily, current data indicates that they have exceptional molecular and biochemical properties and new potentials as fungal-resistance genes. In the current review, we provide insights into the current knowledge on the molecular and biochemical properties of plant nepenthesins and highlights that future focus on them may have strong potentials for industrial applications and crop trait improvement.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document