Cattle pastoralism plays a central role in human livelihood in Africa. However, the genetic history of its success remains unknown. Here, through whole-genome sequence analysis of 172 indigenous African cattle from 16 breeds representative of the main cattle groups, we identify a major taurine × indicine cattle admixture event dated to circa 750-1,050 yr ago, which has shaped the genome of today's cattle in the Horn of Africa. We identify 16 loci linked to African environmental adaptations across crossbred animals showing an excess of taurine or indicine ancestry. These include immune-, heat-tolerance- and reproduction-related genes. Moreover, we identify one highly divergent locus in African taurine cattle, which is putatively linked to trypanotolerance and present in crossbred cattle living in trypanosomosis-infested areas. Our findings indicate that a combination of past taurine and recent indicine admixture-derived genetic resources is at the root of the present success of African pastoralism.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-0694-2 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The role of epidemiologists in addressing the public health consequences of the United States criminal legal system.
Am J Epidemiol
January 2025
Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Exposure to the United States criminal legal system - whether through contact with law enforcement, incarceration in a jail or prison, or community supervision - is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. There is mounting evidence that mass incarceration drives health inequities, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. However, relative to its outsized impacts on health and health inequities, the criminal legal system has received limited attention in epidemiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObstacles to implementing indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation in Africa.
J Environ Manage
January 2025
WASCAL-Graduate Research Program in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, Universite de Lome, Lome, Togo. Electronic address:
In a climate change context, indigenous and local knowledge includes the use of traditional practices, crop varieties, and land management techniques that have evolved in response to local climatic conditions. This inter-generational transfer of knowledge is crucial for maintaining and adapting these practices to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Despite the many advantages of using indigenous knowledge in climate change adaptation in Africa, its implementation faces several obstacles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGerbils without Borders: Invasiveness, Plague, and Micro-Global Histories of Science, 1932-1939.
J Hist Med Allied Sci
January 2025
University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
In the 1930s, a series of bubonic plague outbreaks among humans cropped up in several villages at the border of Angola and Namibia. These outbreaks provoked deep concern, laying bare social and political tensions amongst neighboring imperial powers and Indigenous people within the region. Despite the appearance of this disease in what was then considered a recondite place, its spread sparked debate in transnational forums, such as the League of Nations and the Office International d'Hygiène Publique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImpact of Race on the Outcomes of Retinoblastoma Treated With Primary Enucleation: A Global Study of 1426 Patients.
Clin Exp Ophthalmol
December 2024
King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan.
Background: To evaluate the clinical presentation, pathological features and outcomes of retinoblastoma based on the race of origin in a global cohort of patients.
Methods: Retrospective collaborative study of 1426 patients who underwent primary enucleation for retinoblastoma.
Results: Patients were grouped into Caucasians (n = 231, 16%), Asians (n = 841, 59%), Hispanics (n = 226, 16%), Arabs (n = 96, 7%) and Others (Africans, African Americans, Indigenous Australians; n = 32, 2%) cohorts.
Selection signatures associated with adaptation in South African Drakensberger, Nguni, and Tuli beef breeds.
Trop Anim Health Prod
December 2024
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
In the present study 1,709 cattle, including 1,118 Drakensberger (DRB), 377 Nguni (NGI), and 214 Tuli (TUL), were genotyped using the GeneSeek® Genomic Profiler™ 150 K bovine SNP panel. A genomic data set of 122,632 quality-filtered single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to identify selection signatures within breeds based on conserved runs of homozygosity (ROH) and heterozygosity (ROHet) estimated with the detectRUNS R package. The mean number of ROH per animal varied across breeds ranging from 36.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!