High Y-chromosomal differentiation among ethnic groups of Dir and Swat districts, Pakistan

The ethnic groups that inhabit the mountainous Dir and Swat districts of northern Pakistan are marked by high levels of cultural and phenotypic diversity. To obtain knowledge of the extent of genetic diversity in this region, we investigated Y‐chromosomal diversity in five population samples representing the three main ethnic groups residing within these districts, including Gujars, Pashtuns and Kohistanis. A total of 27 Y‐chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y‐STRs) and 331 Y‐chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y‐SNPs) were investigated. In the Y‐STRs, we observed very high and significant levels of genetic differentiation in nine of the 10 pairwise between‐group comparisons (RST 0.179–0.746), and the differences were mirrored in the Y‐SNP haplogroup frequency distribution. No genetic differences were found between the two Pashtun subethnic groups Tarklanis and Yusafzais (RST = 0.000). Utmankhels, also considered Pashtuns culturally, were not closely related to any of the other population samples (RST 0.451–0.746). Thus, our findings provide examples of both associations and dissociations between cultural and genetic legacies. When analyzed within a larger continental‐scale context, these five ethnic groups fall mostly outside the previously characterized Y‐chromosomal gene pools of the Indo‐Pakistani subcontinent. Male founder effects, coupled with culturally and topographically based constraints upon marriage and movement, are likely responsible for the high degree of genetic structure in this region

Dissecting the Interaction Deficiency of a Cartilaginous Fish Digestive Lipase with Pancreatic Colipase: Biochemical and Structural Insights

A full-length cDNA encoding digestive lipase (SmDL) was cloned from the pancreas of the smooth-hound (Mustelus mustelus). The obtained cDNA was 1350 bp long encoding 451 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence has high similarity with known pancreatic lipases. Catalytic triad and disulphide bond positions are also conserved. According to the established phylogeny, the SmDL was grouped with those of tuna and Sparidae lipases into one fish digestive lipase cluster. The recently purified enzyme shows no dependence for bile salts and colipase. For this, the residue-level interactions between lipase-colipase are yet to be clearly understood. The structural model of the SmDL was built, and several dissimilarities were noticed when analyzing the SmDL amino acids corresponding to those involved in HPL binding to colipase. Interestingly, the C-terminal domain of SmDL which holds the colipase shows a significant role for colipase interaction. This is apt to prevent the interaction between fish lipase and the pancreatic colipase which and can provide more explanation on the fact that the classical colipase is unable to activate the SmDL

Efficient heterologous expression, functional characterization and molecular modeling of annular seabream digestive phospholipase A2.

International audienceHere we report the cDNA cloning of a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from five Sparidae species. The deduced amino acid sequences show high similarity with pancreatic PLA2. In addition, a phylogenetic tree derived from alignment of various available sequences revealed that Sparidae PLA2 are closer to avian PLA2 group IB than to mammals' ones. In order to understand the structure-function relationships of these enzymes, we report here the recombinant expression in E.coli, the refolding and characterization of His-tagged annular seabream PLA2 (AsPLA2). A single Ni-affinity chromatography step was used to obtain a highly purified recombinant AsPLA2 with a molecular mass of 15kDa as attested by gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry data. The enzyme has a specific activity of 400U.mg(-1) measured on phosphatidylcholine at pH 8.5 and 50°C. The enzyme high thermo-activity and thermo-stability make it a potential candidate in various biological applications. The 3D structure models of these enzymes were compared with structures of phylogenetically related pancreatic PLA2. By following these models and utilizing molecular dynamics simulations, the resistance of the AsPLA2 at high temperatures was explained. Using the monomolecular film technique, AsPLA2 was found to be active on various phospholipids spread at the air/water interface at a surface pressure between 12 and 25dyncm(-1). Interestingly, this enzyme was shown to be mostly active on dilauroyl-phosphatidylglycerol monolayers and this behavior was confirmed by molecular docking and dynamics simulations analysis. The discovery of a thermo-active new member of Sparidae PLA2, provides new insights on structure-activity relationships of fish PLA2

Inference of biogeographical ancestry across central regions of Eurasia

The inference of biogeographical ancestry (BGA) can provide useful information for forensic investigators when there are no suspects to be compared with DNA collected at the crime scene or when no DNA database matches exist. Although public databases are increasing in size and population scope, there is a lack of information regarding genetic variation in Eurasian populations, especially in central regions such as the Middle East. Inhabitants of these regions show a high degree of genetic admixture, characterized by an allele frequency cline running from NW Europe to East Asia. Although a proper differentiation has been established between the cline extremes of western Europe and South Asia, populations geographically located in between, i.e, Middle East and Mediterranean populations, require more detailed study in order to characterize their genetic background as well as to further understand their demographic histories. To initiate these studies, three ancestry informative SNP (AI-SNP) multiplex panels: the SNPforID 34-plex, Eurasiaplex and a novel 33-plex assay were used to describe the ancestry patterns of a total of 24 populations ranging across the longitudinal axis from NW Europe to East Asia. Different ancestry inference approaches, including STRUCTURE, PCA, DAPC and Snipper Bayes analysis, were applied to determine relationships among populations. The structure results show differentiation between continental groups and a NW to SE allele frequency cline running across Eurasian populations. This study adds useful population data that could be used as reference genotypes for future ancestry investigations in forensic cases. The 33-plex assay also includes pigmentation predictive SNPs, but this study primarily focused on Eurasian population differentiation using 33-plex and its combination with the other two AI-SNP sets