1.Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Sesame Accessions from Africa and Asia as Major Centers of Its Cultivation.
Dossa K1,2, Wei X3, Zhang Y4, Fonceka D5,6, Yang W7, Diouf D8, Liao B9, Cissé N10, Zhang X11. Genes (Basel). 2016 Apr 12;7(4). pii: E14. doi: 10.3390/genes7040014.
Sesame is an important oil crop widely cultivated in Africa and Asia. Understanding the genetic diversity of accessions from these continents is critical to designing breeding methods and for additional collection of sesame germplasm. To determine the genetic diversity in relation to geographical regions, 96 sesame accessions collected from 22 countries distributed over six geographic regions in Africa and Asia were genotyped using 33 polymorphic SSR markers. Large genetic variability was found within the germplasm collection. The total number of alleles was 137, averaging 4.15 alleles per locus. The accessions from Asia displayed more diversity than those from Africa. Accessions from Southern Asia (SAs), Eastern Asia (EAs), and Western Africa (WAf) were highly diversified, while those from Western Asia (WAs), Northern Africa (NAf), and Southeastern Africa (SAf) had the lowest diversity. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that more than 44% of the genetic variance was due to diversity among geographic regions.
2.Malaria in three epidemiological strata in Mauritania.
Ouldabdallahi Moukah M1, Ba O2, Ba H2, Ould Khairy ML3, Faye O4, Bogreau H5,6,7, Simard F8, Basco LK5,6. Malar J. 2016 Apr 12;15(1):204. doi: 10.1186/s12936-016-1244-3.
BACKGROUND: Malaria epidemiology in Mauritania has been characterized on the basis of epidemiological strata, defined by climatic and geographic features, which divide the country into three zones: Sahelian zone, Sahelo-Saharan transition zone, and Saharan zone. The association between geographic stratification and malaria transmission was assessed through a series of parasitological and entomological surveys.
3.Taxonomic hypotheses regarding the genus Gerbillus (Rodentia, Muridae, Gerbillinae) based on molecular analyses of museum specimens.
Ndiaye A1, Tatard C2, Stanley W3, Granjon L2. Zookeys. 2016 Feb 18;(566):145-55. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.566.7317. eCollection 2016.
Methodological improvements now allow routine analyses of highly degraded DNA samples as found in museum specimens. Using these methods could be useful in studying such groups as rodents of the genus Gerbillus for which i) the taxonomy is still highly debated, ii) collection of fresh specimens may prove difficult. Here we address precise taxonomic questions using a small portion of the cytochrome b gene obtained from 45 dry skin/skull museum samples (from 1913 to 1974) originating from two African and three Asian countries. The specimens were labelled Gerbillus gerbillus, Gerbillus andersoni, Gerbillus nanus, Gerbillus amoenus, Gerbillus perpallidus and Gerbillus pyramidum, and molecular results mostly confirmed these assignations. The close relationship between Gerbillus nanus (Asian origin) and Gerbillus amoenus (African origin) confirmed that they represent vicariant sibling species which differentiated in allopatry on either side of the Red Sea.
4.Results from the Survey of Antibiotic Resistance (SOAR) 2011-14 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Republic of Senegal and Kenya.
Kacou-Ndouba A1, Revathi G2, Mwathi P3, Seck A4, Diop A5, Kabedi-Bajani MJ6, Mwiti W7, Anguibi-Pokou MJ8, Morrissey I9, Torumkuney D10. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2016 May;71 Suppl 1:i21-i31. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkw070.
OBJECTIVES: To assess antibiotic susceptibility of community-acquired respiratory tract isolates from Ivory Coast, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Senegal in 2011-14.
