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A review of the family Trichopolydesmidae in North Africa with a description of a new species from Tunisia.

ABSTRACT: A new species of the genus Haplocookia Brölemann, 1915 is described from Cap Bon Peninsula in Tunisia (North Africa) and a historical account of the poorly understood genera Haplocookia and Heterocookia Silvestri, 1898 is provided. Comments on the taxonomy of the family Trichopolydesmidae are presented, as well as an identification key to the trichopolydesmid species hitherto known from North Africa and an updated list of the Polydesmida in the region.

SUBMITTER: Akkari N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6170523 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A review of the family Trichopolydesmidae in North Africa with a description of a new species from Tunisia.

Akkari Nesrine N Mauriès Jean-Paul JP

ZooKeys 20180926 786

A new species of the genus Haplocookia Brölemann, 1915 is described from Cap Bon Peninsula in Tunisia (North Africa) and a historical account of the poorly understood genera Haplocookia and Heterocookia Silvestri, 1898 is provided. Comments on the taxonomy of the family Trichopolydesmidae are presented, as well as an identification key to the trichopolydesmid species hitherto known from North Africa and an updated list of the Polydesmida in the region. ...[more]

PMID: 30294206

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Project description:BackgroundKey discoveries and innovations in the field of human genetics have led to the foundation of molecular and personalized medicine. Here, we present the Genome Tunisia Project, a two-phased initiative (2022-2035) which aims to deliver the reference sequence of the Tunisian Genome and to support the implementation of personalized medicine in Tunisia, a North African country that represents a central hub of population admixture and human migration between African, European, and Asian populations. The main goal of this initiative is to develop a healthcare system capable of incorporating omics data for use in routine medical practice, enabling medical doctors to better prevent, diagnose, and treat patients.MethodsA multidisciplinary partnership involving Tunisian experts from different institutions has come to discern all requirements that would be of high priority to fulfill the project's goals. One of the most urgent priorities is to determine the reference sequence of the Tunisian Genome. In addition, extensive situation analysis and revision of the education programs, community awareness, appropriate infrastructure including sequencing platforms and biobanking, as well as ethical and regulatory frameworks, have been undertaken towards building sufficient capacity to integrate personalized medicine into the Tunisian healthcare system.ResultsIn the framework of this project, an ecosystem with all engaged stakeholders has been implemented including healthcare providers, clinicians, researchers, pharmacists, bioinformaticians, industry, policymakers, and advocacy groups. This initiative will also help to reinforce research and innovation capacities in the field of genomics and to strengthen discoverability in the health sector.ConclusionsGenome Tunisia is the first initiative in North Africa that seeks to demonstrate the major impact that can be achieved by Human Genome Projects in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen research and to improve disease management and treatment outcomes, thereby reducing the social and economic burden on healthcare systems. Sharing this experience within the African scientific community is a chance to turn a major challenge into an opportunity for dissemination and outreach. Additional efforts are now being made to advance personalized medicine in patient care by educating consumers and providers, accelerating research and innovation, and supporting necessary changes in policy and regulation.

Project description:BackgroundTunisia is a North African country of 10 million inhabitants. The native background population is Berber. However, throughout its history, Tunisia has been the site of invasions and migratory waves of allogenic populations and ethnic groups such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Ottomans and French. Like neighbouring and Middle Eastern countries, the Tunisian population shows a relatively high rate of consanguinity and endogamy that favor expression of recessive genetic disorders at relatively high rates. Many factors could contribute to the recurrence of monogenic morbid trait expression. Among them, founder mutations that arise in one ancestral individual and diffuse through generations in isolated communities.MethodWe report here on founder mutations in the Tunisian population by a systematic review of all available data from PubMed, other sources of the scientific literature as well as unpublished data from our research laboratory.ResultsWe identified two different classes of founder mutations. The first includes founder mutations so far reported only among Tunisians that are responsible for 30 genetic diseases. The second group represents founder haplotypes described in 51 inherited conditions that occur among Tunisians and are also shared with other North African and Middle Eastern countries. Several heavily disabilitating diseases are caused by recessive founder mutations. They include, among others, neuromuscular diseases such as congenital muscular dystrophy and spastic paraglegia and also severe genodermatoses such as dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and xeroderma pigmentosa.ConclusionThis report provides informations on founder mutations for 73 genetic diseases either specific to Tunisians or shared by other populations. Taking into account the relatively high number and frequency of genetic diseases in the region and the limited resources, screening for these founder mutations should provide a rapid and cost effective tool for molecular diagnosis. Indeed, our report should help designing appropriate measures for carrier screening, better evaluation of diseases burden and setting up of preventive measures at the regional level.

Dataset Information

A review of the family Trichopolydesmidae in North Africa with a description of a new species from Tunisia.

Publications

A review of the family Trichopolydesmidae in North Africa with a description of a new species from Tunisia.

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