Human Alu Insertion Polymorphisms in North African Populations
| Autor: | Lotfi Cherni, Touhami Mahjoub, Amel Benammar-Elgaaied, Nabil Mtiraoui, Sabeh Frigi, Hajer Ennafaa |
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| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
Internationality
Tunisia Population Black People Alu element Locus (genetics) Libya DNA Mitochondrial Prehistory Mediterranean sea Africa Northern Gene Frequency Alu Elements Ethnicity Genetics Humans education Phylogeny Genetics (clinical) Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics education.field_of_study Polymorphism Genetic Genetic Variation Markov Chains Spatial heterogeneity Mutagenesis Insertional Genetics Population Geography Evolutionary biology Genetic structure Gene pool |
| Zdroj: | Scopus-Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 1534-6617 0018-7143 |
| Popis: | Several features make Alu insertions a powerful tool used in population genetic studies: the polymorphic nature of many Alu insertions, the stability of an Alu insertion event and, furthermore, the ancestral state of an Alu insertion is known to be the absence of the Alu element at a particular locus and the presence of an Alu insertion at the site that forward mutational change. This study analyses seven Alu insertion polymorphisms in a sample of 297 individuals from the autochthonous population of Tunisia (Thala, Smar, Zarzis, and Bou Salem) and Libya with the aim of studying their genetic structure with respect to the populations of North Africa, Western, Eastern and Central Europe. The comparative analyses carried out using the MDS and AMOVA methods reveal the existence of spatial heterogeneity, and identify four population groups. Study populations (Libya, Smar, Zarzis, and Bou Salem) are closest to North African populations whereas Thala is isolated and is closest to Western European populations. In conclusion, Results of the present study support the important role that migratory movements have played in the North African gene pool, at least since the Neolithic period. The Maghreb is separated from the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa by the vast stretches of the Saharan Desert, and from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea. Our research group (2010) has made an important contribution to studies of African human biology and culture in suggesting the complexity of Maghreban popula- tion history (Keita 2010). Unveiling the history of human settlement in NW Africa is a complex task. It is the result of continuous complex network of migrations, invasions and admixture of people from different origins. During prehistory, in the coastal Maghreb various Neolithic inter-regional interactions are in evidence based on archaeology. Indeed, the Maghreb has |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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