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. However, the earlier history of this traditionally pastoral population has not been well studied. To uncover the genetic structure and ancestry of this widespread population, we gathered genome-wide genotype data from 460 individuals across 18 local Fulani populations, along with comparative data from both modern and ancient worldwide populations. This represents a comprehensive geographically wide-scaled genome-wide study of the Fulani. We revealed a genetic component closely associated with all local Fulani populations, suggesting a shared ancestral component possibly linked to the beginning of African pastoralism in the Green Sahara. Comparison to ancient DNA results also identified the presence of an ancient Iberomaurusian-associated component across all Fulani groups, providing additional insights into their deep genetic history. Additionally, our genetic data indicate a later Fulani expansion from the western to the eastern Sahel, characterized by a clinal pattern and admixture with several other African populations north of the equator.
- MeSH
- černoši * genetika MeSH
- etnicita genetika MeSH
- genetická variace MeSH
- genom lidský MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- populační genetika * MeSH
- Středoafričané MeSH
- Východoafričané MeSH
- Západoafričané MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- subsaharská Afrika MeSH
There are global movements aiming to promote reform of the traditional research evaluation and reward systems. However, a comprehensive picture of the existing best practices and efforts across various institutions to integrate Open Science into these frameworks remains underdeveloped and not fully known. The aim of this study was to identify perceptions and expectations of various research communities worldwide regarding how Open Science activities are (or should be) formally recognised and rewarded. To achieve this, a global survey was conducted in the framework of the Research Data Alliance, recruiting 230 participants from five continents and 37 countries. Despite most participants reporting that their organisation had one form or another of formal Open Science policies, the majority indicated that their organisation lacks any initiative or tool that provides specific credits or rewards for Open Science activities. However, researchers from France, the United States, the Netherlands and Finland affirmed having such mechanisms in place. The study found that, among various Open Science activities, Open or FAIR data management and sharing stood out as especially deserving of explicit recognition and credit. Open Science indicators in research evaluation and/or career progression processes emerged as the most preferred type of reward.
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- internacionalita * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
- výzkumní pracovníci psychologie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
The Sahel/Savannah belt harbors diverse populations with different demographic histories and different subsistence patterns. However, populations from this large African region are notably under-represented in genomic research. To investigate the population structure and adaptation history of populations from the Sahel/Savannah space, we generated dense genome-wide genotype data of 327 individuals-comprising 14 ethnolinguistic groups, including 10 previously unsampled populations. Our results highlight fine-scale population structure and complex patterns of admixture, particularly in Fulani groups and Arabic-speaking populations. Among all studied Sahelian populations, only the Rashaayda Arabic-speaking population from eastern Sudan shows a lack of gene flow from African groups, which is consistent with the short history of this population in the African continent. They are recent migrants from Saudi Arabia with evidence of strong genetic isolation during the last few generations and a strong demographic bottleneck. This population also presents a strong selection signal in a genomic region around the CNR1 gene associated with substance dependence and chronic stress. In Western Sahelian populations, signatures of selection were detected in several other genetic regions, including pathways associated with lactase persistence, immune response, and malaria resistance. Taken together, these findings refine our current knowledge of genetic diversity, population structure, migration, admixture and adaptation of human populations in the Sahel/Savannah belt and contribute to our understanding of human history and health.
OBJECTIVES: Archeological evidence shows that first nomadic pastoralists came to the African Sahel from northeastern Sahara, where milking is reported by ~7.5 ka. A second wave of pastoralists arrived with the expansion of Arabic tribes in 7th-14th century CE. All Sahelian pastoralists depend on milk production but genetic diversity underlying their lactase persistence (LP) is poorly understood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated SNP variants associated with LP in 1,241 individuals from 29 mostly pastoralist populations in the Sahel. Then, we analyzed six SNPs in the neighboring fragment (419 kb) in the Fulani and Tuareg with the -13910*T mutation, reconstructed haplotypes, and calculated expansion age and growth rate of this variant. RESULTS: Our results reveal a geographic localization of two different LP variants in the Sahel: -13910*T west of Lake Chad (Fulani and Tuareg pastoralists) and -13915*G east of there (mostly Arabic-speaking pastoralists). We show that -13910*T has a more diversified haplotype background among the Fulani than among the Tuareg and that the age estimate for expansion of this variant among the Fulani (~8.5 ka) corresponds to introduction of cattle to the area. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study showing that the "Eurasian" LP allele -13910*T is widespread both in northern Europe and in the Sahel; however, it is limited to pastoralists in the Sahel. Since the Fulani haplotype with -13910*T is shared with contemporary Eurasians, its origin could be in a region encompassing the Near East and northeastern Africa in a population ancestral to both Saharan pastoralists and European farmers.
- MeSH
- antropologie fyzická MeSH
- Arabové genetika statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- běloši genetika statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- černoši * genetika statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- dieta MeSH
- etnicita * genetika statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- haplotypy MeSH
- jednonukleotidový polymorfismus genetika MeSH
- laktasa genetika MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mléko MeSH
- osoby s přechodným pobytem a migranti MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- severní Afrika MeSH
