Late Pleistocene Potential Distribution of the North African Sengi or Elephant-ShrewElephantulus rozeti(Mammalia: Macroscelidea)

The seeds of Ammodaucus leucotrichus Cosson and Durieu have been used in the North African Sahara as a traditional medicine to treat diabetes. The present study investigates the antidiabetic, antihyperglycemic, and anti-inflammatory properties of the defatted hydroethanolic extract of Ammodaucus leucotrichus (DHEAM). The antidiabetic and the antihyperglycemic studies were assessed on alloxan-induced diabetic with orally administered doses of DHEAM (100 and 200 mg/kg). At the same time, its anti-inflammatory propriety was evaluated by measuring edema development in the Wistar rats paw induced with carrageenan. Treatment of diabetic mice with DHEAM for four weeks managed their high fasting blood glucose levels, improved their overall health, and also revealed an excellent antihyperglycemic activity. Following the anti-inflammatory results, DHEAM exhibited a perfect activity. HPLC results revealed the presence of seven molecules (chlorogenic acid, 3-p-coumaroylquinic acid, gallic acid, ferulic acid, myricetin, quercetin, luteolin). This work indicates that the DHEAM has an important antidiabetic, antihyperglycemic, and anti-inflammatory effect that can be well established as a phytomedicine to treat diabetes.

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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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NOTES ON THE NORTH AFRICAN SPECIES OF THE GENUS CHRYSOCRAMBUS BLESZYNSKI (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE), WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SUBSPECIES

Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London Series B Taxonomy ◽

10.1111/j.1365-3113.1960.tb01140.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 29 (5-6) ◽

pp. 65-67

Author(s):

Paul E. S. Whalley

Keyword(s):

North African ◽

African Species ◽

New Subspecies ◽

The North ◽

Lepidoptera Pyralidae

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A multi-proxy reconstruction of climate during the late-Pleistocene to early Holocene transition in the northeastern, USA

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2020.127 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Laurie D. Grigg ◽

Kevin J. Engle ◽

Alison J. Smith ◽

Bryan N. Shuman ◽

Maximilian B. Mandl

Keyword(s):

Late Pleistocene ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Warming Trend ◽

Early Holocene ◽

Individual Species ◽

Environmental Preferences ◽

The North ◽

Show Evidence ◽

Dry Conditions ◽

Components Analysis

Abstract A multiproxy record from Twin Ponds, VT, is used to reconstruct climatic variability during the late Pleistocene to early Holocene transition. Pollen, ostracodes, δ18O, and lithologic records from 13.5 to 9.0 cal ka BP are presented. Pollen- and ostracode-inferred climatic reconstructions are based on individual species’ environmental preferences and the modern analog technique. Principal components analysis of all proxies highlights the overall warming trend and centennial-scale climatic variability. During the Younger Dryas cooling event (YD), multiple proxies show evidence for cold winter conditions and increasing seasonality after 12.5 cal ka BP. The early Holocene shows an initial phase of rapid warming with a brief cold interval at 11.5 cal ka BP, followed by a more gradual warming; a cool, wet period from 11.2 to 10.8 cal ka BP; and cool, dry conditions from 10.8 to 10.2 cal ka BP. The record ends with steady warming and increasing moisture. Post-YD climatic variability has been observed at other sites in the northeastern United States and points to continued instability in the North Atlantic during the final phases of deglaciation.

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The Atlas Massif separates a northern and a southern mitochondrial haplotype group of North African water frogs Pelophylax saharicus (Anura: Ranidae) in Morocco

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/15685381-00003015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 437-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Aziza Lansari ◽

Miguel Vences ◽

Susanne Hauswaldt ◽

Ralf Hendrix ◽

David Donaire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mitochondrial Haplotype ◽

North African ◽

High Atlas ◽

Water Frog ◽

The North ◽

Water Frogs ◽

Atlas Mountains ◽

High Atlas Mountains ◽

Gene Coi ◽

Area North

We assessed the genetic variation of 47 Moroccan populations of the North African water frog (Pelophylax saharicus) using partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI). All 239 samples belonged to the main haplotype clade previously identified from Morocco, with no haplotypes of the Algerian/Tunisian clades among our samples. Altogether 40 haplotypes were found, with a maximum of 13 mutational steps between them. Two weakly divergent haplogroups separated by a minimum of six mutational steps were distributed (i) in the Anti-Atlas and the Sahara (south of the High Atlas Mountains) versus (ii) in the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas, and in the Rif area north of the Atlas Massif. Haplotypes of the northern haplogroup were found at the southernmost locality, which might be due to human translocation, and co-occurrence of the two haplogroups was recorded at three sites within the range of the northern haplogroup.

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