Project description:The Kashmiri population is an ethno-linguistic group that resides in the Kashmir Valley in northern India. A longstanding hypothesis is that this population derives ancestry from Jewish and/or Greek sources. There is historical and archaeological evidence of ancient Greek presence in India and Kashmir. Further, some historical accounts suggest ancient Hebrew ancestry as well. To date, it has not been determined whether signatures of Greek or Jewish admixture can be detected in the Kashmiri population. Using genome-wide genotyping and admixture detection methods, we determined there are no significant or substantial signs of Greek or Jewish admixture in modern-day Kashmiris. The ancestry of Kashmiri Tibetans was also determined, which showed signs of admixture with populations from northern India and west Eurasia. These results contribute to our understanding of the existing population structure in northern India and its surrounding geographical areas.
Project description:The research on alternative and sustainable feed ingredients is a challenge to reduce the feed-food competition between humans and monogastrics, in particular pigs. Former food products (FFPs) drop out from the industrial production of food such as pasta, bread, snacks and chips. They have a high nutritional and energetic value and represent an alternative and sustainable feed ingredient. The aim of this study was to apply label-free quantitative peptidomics to assess the impact of the inclusion of FFPs on serum peptidome.
Project description:Biodiversity is a key factor for the functioning and efficiency of an ecosystem. Greece, though covering a relatively small surface area, hosts a great deal of species diversity. This is especially true for freshwater fishes. In recent years, the traditional methods of species identification have been supplemented by the use of molecular markers. The present study therefore aims to extensively produce DNA barcodes for Greek freshwater fish species and investigate thoroughly if the presently accepted species classification is in agreement with molecular data. A 624-bases long fragment of the COI gene was sequenced, from 406 freshwater fish specimens belonging to 24 genera and originating from 18 lake and river sites. These sequences were used along with 596 sequences from the same genera, recovered from BOLD, for the construction of phylogenetic trees and the estimation of genetic distances between individuals. In total, 1002 sequences belonging to 72 species were analyzed. The method was found to be effective for 55 of 72 studied species. 17 closely related species with low interspecific genetic distances were observed, for which further study is proposed. It should also be noted that, in four cases, cryptic diversity was observed, where groups originally identified as one species exhibited genetic distance great enough to be separated into discrete species. Region specific haplotypes were also detected within populations of 14 species, giving the possibility to identify even the geographic origin of a species. Our findings are discussed in the light of the rich history of the Balkan peninsula and provide a significant steppingstone for the further study of Greek and European freshwater fish biodiversity.