Publications by authors named "Cesar A Fortes-Lima"
The Fulani people, one of the most important pastoralist groups in sub-Saharan Africa, are still largely underrepresented in population genomic research. They speak a Niger-Congo language called Fulfulde or Pulaar and live in scattered locations across the Sahel/Savannah belt, from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Chad. According to historical records, their ancestors spread from Futa Toro in the Middle Senegal Valley to Futa-Jallon in Guinea and then eastward into the Sahel belt over the past 1,500 years.
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- *This study focused on the genetic causes of HI in the Malian population through whole exome sequencing, uncovering variants in multiple known HI genes and identifying a novel candidate gene, UBFD1.
- *Results showed that 75% of the examined families had identifiable causes for HI, with many variants being newly identified and a case of digenic inheritance observed.
Article Synopsis
- The growth of Bantu language speakers over the last 6,000-4,000 years significantly altered Africa's demographics, culture, and genetics.
- Using a large genomic dataset from modern and ancient DNA across 14 African countries, research reveals that genetic diversity decreases as Bantu speakers move farther from their western African origins.
- The study supports a migration model where Bantu speakers interacted and merged genetically with local populations, providing valuable insights for various disciplines, including genetics and health research.
The island of St Helena played a crucial role in the suppression of the transatlantic slave trade. Strategically located in the middle of the South Atlantic, it served as a staging post for the Royal Navy and reception point for enslaved Africans who had been "liberated" from slave ships intercepted by the British. In total, St Helena received approximately 27,000 liberated Africans between 1840 and 1867.
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- The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (TAST) shaped genetic and cultural diversity in populations, with Cabo Verde as a key site for studying admixture between Europeans and Africans.
- Using genomic and linguistic data, the study reveals early admixture mainly between Iberians and Senegambian populations, influenced by forced and voluntary migrations.
- The findings suggest that genetic diversity and Kriolu language variation developed regionally within the islands, reflecting complex socio-cultural dynamics during and after the TAST era.
Admixture is a fundamental evolutionary process that has influenced genetic patterns in numerous species. Maximum-likelihood approaches based on allele frequencies and linkage-disequilibrium have been extensively used to infer admixture processes from genome-wide data sets, mostly in human populations. Nevertheless, complex admixture histories, beyond one or two pulses of admixture, remain methodologically challenging to reconstruct.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Association studies in recently admixed populations are extremely useful to identify the genetic architecture of pigmentation, due to their high genotypic and phenotypic variation. However, to date only four Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have been carried out in these populations.
Results: We present a GWAS of skin pigmentation in an admixed sample from Cuba (N = 762).
Large areas of the province of Punjab, Pakistan are endemic for fascioliasis, resulting in high economic losses due to livestock infection but also affecting humans directly. The prevalence in livestock varies pronouncedly in space and time (1-70%). Climatic factors influencing fascioliasis presence and potential spread were analysed based on data from five meteorological stations during 1990-2010.
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