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result(s) for
"Animal diversity Kuwait."
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Salinity-driven decadal changes in phytoplankton community in the NW Arabian Gulf of Kuwait
Evaluation of hydrological data obtained between 2000 and 2013 from a time series station in Kuwait Bay (station K6) and an offshore southern location (station 18) off Kuwait showed drastic increase in salinity by 6 units. We tested the hypothesis that increased salinity impacted phytoplankton community characteristics in these semiarid waters. The Arabian Gulf receives seasonal freshwater discharge in the north via Shatt Al-Arab estuary with a peak during March–July. A north to south gradient in the proportion of the freshwater exists between station A in the vicinity of Shatt Al-Arab estuary and station 18 in the southern offshore area. At station A, the proportion of freshwater was the highest (25.6–42.5%) in 1997 but decreased to 0.8–4.6% by 2012–2013. The prevailing hyperhaline conditions off Kuwait are attributed to decrease in the river flow. Phytoplankton data showed a decrease in the number of constituent taxa in the last one decade from 353 to 159 in the Kuwait Bay and from 164 to 156 in the offshore area. A shift in their biomass was caused by a decrease in diatom species from 243 to 92 in the coastal waters and from 108 to 83 in the offshore areas with a concomitant increase of smaller algae. Mutivariate agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis, non-metric multi-dimensional scaling, and one-way analysis of similarity analyses on phytoplankton data at different taxonomic levels confirmed significant changes in their community organization on a decadal scale. These evidences support our hypothesis that the salinity-related environmental changes have resulted in a coincidental decrease in species diversity and significant changes in phytoplankton community between the years 2000–2002 and 2012–2013, off Kuwait. This in turn would affect the pelagic trophodynamics as evident from a drastic decrease in the catch landings of
Tenulosa ilisha
(Suboor),
Carangoides
sp. (Hamam),
Otolithes ruber
(Nowaiby),
Parastromateus niger
(Halwaya), and
Epinephelus coioides
(Hamoor) in Kuwait.
Journal Article
Taxonomic identification of Madagascar’s free-ranging “forest cats”
Madagascar does not have native wild felid species; however, distinct populations of free-ranging “forest cats” of unknown species are known throughout the island, including at Ankarafantsika National Park, Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Makira Natural Park and the Masoala peninsula. Malagasy “forest cats” are commonly considered invasive lemur predators and competitors with endemic carnivores as well as a nuisance exotic species that kill poultry. These cats may be descendants of African wildcats, European wildcats and/or domestic cats; however, no research on their genetic origin has been published. To determine their taxonomic status, genetic data from short tandem repeat markers was assessed for three wild-caught “forest cats” from the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR) and 27 “forest cats” from Ankarafantsika National Park. Bayesian analyses comparing the Malagasy “forest cats” to approximately 1900 domestic and wildcat sub-species suggest the Malagasy cats are descendents of domestic cats from the Arabian Sea region, including the islands of Lamu and Pate, Dubai, Kuwait and Oman. Additional genetic influences may descend from India and Pakistan. Combined with cultural and historical information, these data suggest that these felid populations are likely descendents from cats that immigrated to the island on trade ships, particularly along early Arab trade routes.
Journal Article
Exploring the influences of geographical variation on sequence signatures in the human gut microbiome
Geography shapes the structure and function of human gut microbiomes. In this study, we have explored the available human gut microbiome 16S rRNA sequence datasets of cohorts representing large geographical gradients. The 16S rRNA sequences representing V3-V4 as well as V4 regions generated using Illumina sequencing chemistry in the MiSeq platform encompassing the United States of America, Chile, South Africa, Kuwait, and Malaysia were subjected to in-depth computational biology analyses. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most dominant phyla present in all studied cohorts but Actinobacteria was exclusively present in high abundance in cohorts from Malaysia (15.99%). The relative abundance of five families, namely Bacteroidaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Eubacteriaceae were highest representing the studied cohorts. The permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) showed that the dissimilarity in the gut microbiome structure of cohorts representing studied countries was significant (R
2
= 0.28,
P
< 0.001). The calculated Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F : B) ratio was found to be lowest in cohorts from South Africa (1.11) and Chile (0.95). The cohorts from South Africa exhibited the highest alpha diversity based on Hill numbers at
q
=0, whereas at
q
=1 and 2, cohorts from Malaysia had the highest alpha diversity. The beta diversity analysis revealed that cohorts from Chile formed a distinct cluster among all the studied geographical locations. For the first time, the study also showed that cohorts from Malaysia representing short geographical distances exhibited distinct intrapopulation differences in the gut microbiome and may not be influenced by cultural and genetic factors.
Journal Article
Phylogenetic evidence of a possible Trichuris globulosa species complex in Arabian camels from Kuwait
During a 1-year study, Trichuris adults were obtained after necropsy of Arabian camels (Camelus dromedarius) from a slaughterhouse in Kuwait. Morphological and molecular identification was performed to confirm the identity of the Trichuris specimens obtained from C. dromedarius. Fifteen male Trichuris specimens were selected, and molecular identification was performed using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, 12S ribosomal RNA, 16S ribosomal RNA genes and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Through phylogenetic analysis, 2 distinct groups were obtained using the mitochondrial genes, where group 1 showed a close relationship to Trichuris globulosa while group 2 showed a close relationship to Trichuris ovis, providing molecular evidence of a possible T. globulosa species complex. Additionally, the nuclear ITS2 region did not provide enough resolution to distinguish between the 2 groups of Trichuris specimens. Observation of morphological characters revealed variations in the shape of the male spicule sheath, where specimens present either a globular posteriorly truncated swelling or the absence of posteriorly truncated swelling. Moreover, the variations in male spicule sheath does not corroborate with the results of molecular data, suggesting the limited use of this character for identification of T. globulosa. In conclusion, molecular analysis suggests a possible species complex in T. globulosa, with the mitochondrial genetic markers successfully differentiating between the 2 groups. The limited use of the male spicule sheath as a diagnostic character for identification of T. globulosa is suggested.
Journal Article
Morphology and reproductive biology of a new Pseudopolydora (Annelida: Spionidae) species from the Arabian Gulf
The Asian Pacific spionid polychaete worm
Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata
(Okuda,
1937
) has been repeatedly reported from the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Our recent molecular study showed that the Pacific and the Arabian populations of these worms are not conspecific. Here we describe adult, gamete, and larval morphology of worms from the Arabian Gulf, Kuwait, as the new species
Pseudopolydora arabica
sp. nov. Adults are characterized by the presence of intense yellow pigment on the prostomium, the dorsal side of the anterior chaetigers, and up to 50 ramified yellow chromatophores on each palp. Males produce thread-like wavy spermatophores about 10 μm in diameter and up to 2 mm long. Females store sperm in seminal receptacles on the dorsal side of fertile chaetigers and lay up to 1500 eggs into 35 capsules joined to each other in a string; each is attached by one stalk to the inner wall of the tube. Eggs are 100−103 μm in diameter, with smooth and thin envelopes, which develop into 3-chaetiger larvae inside the capsules. Hatched larvae are planktotrophic and settle and metamorphose at about 17 chaetigers. Adults inhabit silty tubes in soft sediments forming aggregations of up to 50,000 individuals per 1 m
2
.
Journal Article
Sequence and analysis of a whole genome from Kuwaiti population subgroup of Persian ancestry
Background
The 1000 Genome project paved the way for sequencing diverse human populations. New genome projects are being established to sequence underrepresented populations helping in understanding human genetic diversity. The Kuwait Genome Project an initiative to sequence individual genomes from the three subgroups of Kuwaiti population namely, Saudi Arabian tribe; “tent-dwelling” Bedouin; and Persian, attributing their ancestry to different regions in Arabian Peninsula and to modern-day Iran (West Asia). These subgroups were in line with settlement history and are confirmed by genetic studies. In this work, we report whole genome sequence of a Kuwaiti native from Persian subgroup at >37X coverage.
Results
We document 3,573,824 SNPs, 404,090 insertions/deletions, and 11,138 structural variations. Out of the reported SNPs and indels, 85,939 are novel. We identify 295 ‘loss-of-function’ and 2,314 ’deleterious’ coding variants, some of which carry homozygous genotypes in the sequenced genome; the associated phenotypes include pharmacogenomic traits such as greater triglyceride lowering ability with fenofibrate treatment, and requirement of high warfarin dosage to elicit anticoagulation response. 6,328 non-coding SNPs associate with 811 phenotype traits: in congruence with medical history of the participant for Type 2 diabetes and β-Thalassemia, and of participant’s family for migraine, 72 (of 159 known) Type 2 diabetes, 3 (of 4) β-Thalassemia, and 76 (of 169) migraine variants are seen in the genome. Intergenome comparisons based on shared disease-causing variants, positions the sequenced genome between Asian and European genomes in congruence with geographical location of the region. On comparison, bead arrays perform better than sequencing platforms in correctly calling genotypes in low-coverage sequenced genome regions however in the event of novel SNP or indel near genotype calling position can lead to false calls using bead arrays.
Conclusions
We report, for the first time, reference genome resource for the population of Persian ancestry. The resource provides a starting point for designing large-scale genetic studies in Peninsula including Kuwait, and Persian population. Such efforts on populations under-represented in global genome variation surveys help augment current knowledge on human genome diversity.
Journal Article
Localized hyper saline waters in Arabian Gulf from desalination activity—an example from South Kuwait
Desalination is the only means of reliable water supply in most of the Arabian Gulf States including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates. Huge desalination capacities are installed on the western margin of the Arabian Gulf contributing to increased salinity off the coast. This paper presents long term salinity observation made near outfall of Az Zour Power and Desalination Plant in South Kuwait. The salinity values peak at around 50 ppt at observation station located in open gulf around 5 km from the outfall of the power and desalination plant. The observation highlights the stress on the local marine environment continued incremental salinity can impair the marine biodiversity in the area. The study suggests that a stringent post construction and operational offshore water quality assessment can help in early detection of potentially complex environmental issues.
Journal Article
First complete genomic characterization and phylogeny of a new recombinant of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) from Kuwait
While whitefly-transmitted begomoviruses are economically important constraints to tomato production in Kuwait, little is known about genomic features of these viruses from Kuwait. A begomovirus isolated from severely diseased tomatoes, collected over a two-year period in the main tomato-growing areas of Kuwait, was characterized at the molecular level. The complete genomic sequence of the begomovirus was determined, and phlylogeographic studies were conducted to better understand genetic diversity of the virus in the region. Based on genome properties and phylogenetic analysis, the begomovirus was found to be a strain of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). The virus genome was monopartite, as neither DNA B nor satellite DNA molecules were detected. Two isolates characterized in this study shared 97 % and 95 % nucleotide sequence identity with a previously characterized Kuwaiti isolate, TYLCV-KISR. Among TYLCV isolates with known genome sequences, the Kuwaiti isolates shared highest sequence identity (95 %) with TYLCV-Almeria (Spain). Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis showed that the three Kuwaiti isolates formed a distinct clade that was separate from those of known TYLCV sequences. One Kuwaiti isolate (KW 1-3) could be a novel variant of TYLCV. Two recombination events were detected in the genome sequence of KW 1-3, which appeared to be a recombinant derived from TYLCV parents from Oman and Kuwait.
Journal Article
Identification of novel microsatellite markers for P. argenteus from Kuwait waters
Silver pomfret is a coastal fish of economic significance. While its natural populations have dwindled due to various human activities, the genetic information on this species is still limited. We have used the next generation sequencing to identify microsatellites and developed corresponding primers in Arabian Gulf populations. PCR studies were performed on the 48 short-listed loci across multiple individuals from Iranian and Kuwait waters. Twenty-seven polymorphic loci were analyzed and 16 of them showed significant deviations from expected Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, for the Iranian or Kuwait populations. The developed primers may be highly useful for detailed population genetic studies of silver pomfret from various geographical locations.
Journal Article