Elkamel Sarra, Cherni Lotfi, Alvarez Luis, Marques Sofia L, Prata Maria J, Boussetta Sami, Benammar-Elgaaied Amel, Khodjet-El-Khil Houssein
a Laboratory of Genetics, Immunology and Human Pathology, Faculté de Sciences de Tunis , Université de Tunis El Manar , Tunis, Tunisia.
b High Institute of Biotechnology, University of Monastir , Monastir , Tunisia.
Ann Hum Biol. 2017 Mar;44(2):180-190. doi: 10.1080/03014460.2016.1205135. Epub 2016 Jul 17.
Recent genomic analyses suggest that the current North African gene pool was mainly influenced by population flow coming from the East that altered the genetic structure of autochthonous Berber populations. Such genetic flow has not been extensively addressed yet using North African populations of Middle-eastern origin as reference.
To discern the Middle-eastern component in the genetic background of Tunisian Arabs and evaluate the extent of gene flow from the Middle East into North African autochthonous Berber populations.
This study has examined 113 Tunisians of well-known Arabian origin from Kairouan region, using 15 autosomal Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) loci.
No deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed and all loci presented high levels of heterozygosity. Principal coordinate and STRUCTURE analyses were consistent in clustering together North African and Middle Eastern populations, likely reflecting the recent gene flow from the East dating back to the Arab conquest period. This demographic migration and the Arabisation process that submerged the original Berber language and customs seems to have be accompanied by substantial gene flow and genetic admixture.
This study represents an additional step to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the complex demographic history of North African populations.
近期的基因组分析表明，当前的北非基因库主要受到来自东方的人口流动影响，这种流动改变了当地柏柏尔人群体的基因结构。然而，尚未广泛利用中东血统的北非人群作为参考来探讨这种基因流动情况。
辨别突尼斯阿拉伯人基因背景中的中东成分，并评估从中东到北非本土柏柏尔人群体的基因流动程度。
本研究使用15个常染色体短串联重复序列（STR）位点，对113名来自凯鲁万地区、具有已知阿拉伯血统的突尼斯人进行了检测。
未观察到偏离哈迪-温伯格平衡的情况，所有位点均呈现出高度杂合性。主坐标分析和结构分析一致地将北非和中东人群聚类在一起，这可能反映了可追溯到阿拉伯征服时期的近期来自东方的基因流动。这种人口迁移以及淹没了原始柏柏尔语言和习俗的阿拉伯化过程似乎伴随着大量的基因流动和基因混合。
本研究是朝着全面了解北非人群复杂人口历史迈出的又一步。
