Infectious diseases epidemic threats and mass gatherings: refocusing global attention on the continuing spread of the Middle East Respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Media and World Health Organization (WHO) attention on Zika virus transmission at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa diverted the attention of global public health authorities from other lethal infectious diseases with epidemic potential. Mass gatherings such as the annual Hajj pilgrimage hosted by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attract huge crowds from all continents, creating high-risk conditions for the rapid global spread of infectious diseases. The highly lethal Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) remains in the WHO list of top emerging diseases likely to cause major epidemics. The 2015 MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea, in which 184 MERS cases including 33 deaths occurred in 2 months, that was imported from the Middle East by a South Korean businessman was a wake-up call for the global community to refocus attention on MERS-CoV and other emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases with epidemic potential. The international donor community and Middle Eastern countries should make available resources for, and make a serious commitment to, taking forward a "One Health" global network for proactive surveillance, rapid detection, and prevention of MERS-CoV and other epidemic infectious diseases threats

A widespread problem : cryptic diversity in the Libyan jird

BACKGROUND : The Libyan jird, Meriones libycus, is described as occurring from Morocco to the Mongolian plateau. Three subspecies are known from morphological determinations but not genetic data. We used museum collection locations to create a niche model of the most likely suitable habitat for this species within its potential extent. Using samples collected from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we examined genetic diversity including available samples from China and Tunisia, providing the first genetic overview of this species. RESULTS : Mitochondrial cytochrome b data showed that genetic differentiation between Arabian and other sampling locations of M. libycus is less than the lineage separation seen in Meriones meridianus and greater than that in Meriones tamariscinus. The Arabian lineage investigated here is clearly distinct from the Chinese Meriones libycus erythrourus and Tunisian Meriones libycus syrius, the latter subspecies being previously suggested to occur in the sampling area. CONCLUSIONS : We suggest further investigation to ascertain whether the lineage represented here is Arabian Meriones libycus arimalius or a different lineage entirely. We further question the reliability of previous morphological descriptions for producing specific determinations in Meriones and related taxa.http://www.zoologicalstudies.com/content/53/1/33hb201

A widespread problem : cryptic diversity in the Libyan jird

BACKGROUND : The Libyan jird, Meriones libycus, is described as occurring from Morocco to the Mongolian plateau. Three subspecies are known from morphological determinations but not genetic data. We used museum collection locations to create a niche model of the most likely suitable habitat for this species within its potential extent. Using samples collected from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we examined genetic diversity including available samples from China and Tunisia, providing the first genetic overview of this species. RESULTS : Mitochondrial cytochrome b data showed that genetic differentiation between Arabian and other sampling locations of M. libycus is less than the lineage separation seen in Meriones meridianus and greater than that in Meriones tamariscinus. The Arabian lineage investigated here is clearly distinct from the Chinese Meriones libycus erythrourus and Tunisian Meriones libycus syrius, the latter subspecies being previously suggested to occur in the sampling area. CONCLUSIONS : We suggest further investigation to ascertain whether the lineage represented here is Arabian Meriones libycus arimalius or a different lineage entirely. We further question the reliability of previous morphological descriptions for producing specific determinations in Meriones and related taxa.http://www.zoologicalstudies.com/content/53/1/33hb201

A tale of two jirds : the locomotory activity patterns of the King jird (Meriones rex) and Lybian jird (Meriones lybicus) from Saudi Arabia

The animal-environment interaction is complex, and the ability to temporally organise locomotor activity provides adaptive and survival advantages. We investigated daily and circadian locomotor activity patterns of two jird species from Arabia occurring in dramatically different environments to determine the environmental effect on activity. The King jird occurs in mountainous regions of Azir where climatic conditions are cool and wet, while the Libyan jird inhabits low-lying hot sandy deserts where temperatures exceed 45ºC during summer. Six King jirds and nine Libyan jirds were subjected to a 12L:12D light cycle, a period of constant darkness (DD) and an inversed 12D:12L light cycle. Five of six King jirds and all Libyan jirds showed entrainment of their activity to the light cycles, most animals exhibited nocturnal activity. All entraining jirds showed circadian rhythmicity, with the periods of the rhythms very close to 24 hours. Entraining jirds inversed their activity patterns when the light cycle was inversed. The two jird species displayed comparable amounts of nocturnal activity in all light cycles presented. The King jird showed larger intraspecific variability than the Libyan jird, which may reflect more plasticity in its circadian clock, allowing it to adapt quicker to environmental changes.The Deanship of Scientific Research at the King Saud University for funding the work through the research group project No. RGP_VPP_020.www.elsevier.com/locate/jaridenvhb2013ab201

Lights out, let’s move about : locomotory activity patterns of Wagner’s gerbil from the desert of Saudi Arabia

We investigated the circadian activity rhythm in the little-studied Wagner's gerbil (Gerbillus dasyurus) from the Raydah Protected Area, southwestern Saudi Arabia. In order to assess whether these animals possess an endogenous rhythm of locomotor activity that entrains to the light:dark cycle, they were subjected to three distinct light cycles: an LD cycle (12 h light/12 h dark), a DD cycle (constant darkness) and a DL light cycle (an inverse of the LD light cycle). All eight individuals studied exhibited entrainment of their activity to the light cycles. Under LD, the total percentage of activity during the dark phase was 93.7 ± 1.8%. Activity was distributed throughout the night (mean peak activity 22:46 ± 0:14). All eight animals expressed distinct endogenous free-running rhythms of locomotor activity (mean í = 23:55 ± 0:36). During constant darkness, animals still displayed more activity during the subjective night (75.6 ± 0.4%). Under the DL light cycle, the total percentage of activity was 92.7 ± 1.8% during the dark phase. In conclusion, the daily locomotor activity rhythm of Wagner's gerbil is strongly entrained by the light:dark cycle with the most activity concentrated during the night and consequently this desert-dwelling mammal may thus be considered truly nocturnal.We extend our appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at the King Saud University for funding the work through the research group project No. RGP_VPP_020. We thank HH Prince Bandar Bin Mohammed Bin Saud, Secretary General, Saudi Wildlife Authority, for permission to trap the animals in the Raydah Protected Area in southwestern Saudi Arabia. NCB gratefully acknowledges support from the Visiting Professors Programme of King Saud University to undertake research in Saudi Arabia.http://africanzoology.journals.ac.za/am2013ab201

On the genetic diversity of spiny mice (genus Acomys) and gerbils (genus Gerbillus) in the Arabian Peninsula

Using non-destructive sampling we provide further genetic characterisations for spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus/cahirinus) and gerbils (Gerbillus sp.) in three regions in Saudi Arabia. All individuals were sequenced for a fragment of the cytochrome b gene, and compared against available conspecifics and closely related taxa. We confirm the existence of a second Acomys dimidiatus/cahirinus lineage specific to the Arabian Peninsula as seen previously. The Arabian Gerbillus nanus is shown to group with Middle Eastern rather than African conspecifics. A second cryptic Gerbillus lineage was also sampled across multiple locations, which may be an uncharacterised G. dasyurus.This project was supported by King Saud University, Deanship of Scientific Research, College of Science Research Centre, in collaboration with the DST-NRF SARChI Chair for Mammal behavioural ecology and physiology.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tzme202015-06-30hb201

First data on chigger mites (Acariformes: Trombiculidae) of Saudi Arabia, with a description of four new species

A collection of chigger mites from three species of rodents in the ꞌAsir Region of Saudi Arabia resulted in the finding of 19 species. Four new species are described: Schoutedenichia asirensis sp. nov., Schoutedenichia saudi sp. nov., Microtrombicula microscuta sp. nov., and Microtrombicula muhaylensis sp. nov. Fifteen species – Gahrliepia lawrencei Jadin and Vercammen-Grandjean, 1952, Schoengastiella wansoni Wolfs and Vercammen-Grandjean, Walchia parvula Schluger, Ascoschoengastia browni Taufflieb, Mouchet and Courtois, Helenicula lukshumiae Nadchatram and Traub, Schoutedenichia thracica Kolebinova, Schoutedenichia zarudnyi Kudryashova, Ericotrombidium caucasicum (Schluger), Ericotrombidium galliardi (Vercammen-Grandjean and Taufflieb), Ericotrombidium kazeruni (Kudryashova), Microtrombicula centropi (Vercammen-Grandjean), Microtrombicula hoogstraali (Radford), Microtrombicula hyracis (Vercammen-Grandjean), Microtrombicula traubi (Muljarskaja and Verdieva), and Pentidionis agamae (André) – are for the first time recorded in Saudi Arabia and on new host species. Six of them are for the first time recorded outside their type localities and five were only known previously from the African continent.</jats:p

Now you see me, now you don't : the locomotory activity rhythm of the Asian garden dormouse (Eliomys melanurus) from Saudi Arabia

The locomotory activity rhythms of Asian garden dormice, Eliomys melanurus from Saudi Arabia were investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Animals were maintained under different lighting conditions for a period of two weeks each. Dormice exhibited predominantly nocturnal activity during the light/dark (LD) (mean % nocturnal activity: 95.5 ± 0.9%) and dark/light (DL) (mean % nocturnal activity: 96.8 ± 0.7%) light cycles. All animals expressed free-running rhythms of locomotor activity when subjected to constant darkness (mean τ: 24h06 ± 0h09). Upon inversion of the LD cycle to DL, activity re-entrained to the new light cycle within 3 days. When the dark component of the day was lengthened to 8L:16D the active time increased significantly from 11h43 ± 0h05 to 13h43 ± 0h22. In contrast, when the dark component was shortened from 12L:12D to16L: 8D, the active time decreased significantly to 7h58 ± 0h04. No difference was apparent in the locomotor activity at 20 and 30 °C however, dormice became very inactive at 10 °C. Overall, locomotor activity patterns of the Asian garden dormouse largely resemble those of other species of dormice. However, Asian garden dormice spent long periods of time inactive both during light and darkness, when exposed to an ambient temperature of 10 °C, which may be related to the dramatic and sudden change in temperature. This period of inactivity may reflect a bout of torpor or the entering into a state of hibernation.King Saud University, Dean-ship of Scientific Research, College of Science Research Center.Animal Use and Care Committee of the University of Pretoria, number EC015-12.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/mambiohb201