Assessment of phylogenetic structure of Berber-speaking population of Azrou using 15 STRs of Identifiler kit.

Allele frequencies for 15 STR autosomal loci of Identifiler kit (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA) in the Moroccan population of Berber-speaking of Azrou, were assessed from a sample of 201 unrelated individuals. Markers D18S51, D2S1338, FGA and D21S11 present the highest power of discrimination (PD) values while D21S11 was the most polymorphic locus in the studied population. The phylogenetic tree established among worldwide populations, shows that Berber-speaking population of Azrou was so close to the Berber-speaking population of Asni but also to the Arab-speaking population of southern Morocco. Nevertheless, a significant distance was observed between populations of Azrou and Bouhria even they share the same dialect (Amazigh) and belong to the same geographical area (Morocco). The 15 STR loci studied appear to be highly discriminating, thus providing a powerful tool for forensic applications, paternity investigation, individual identification and anthropological studies.

Purification and partial characterization of camel (Camelus Dromedarius) ceruloplasmin.

Adult and young camel ceruloplasmin (Cp) were isolated and purified using the single-step chromatography on amino ethyl-activated sepharose. There are no differences between the adult and the young camel protein. The molecular mass of the protein, as estimated by SDS-PAGE (denaturant conditions), was approximately 130000 Da. The electrophoretic mobility of camel Cp is slightly higher as compared to human and sheep protein suggesting that the camel Cp is homogeneous, compact and more acid. The copper content was estimated to be 5.8+/-0.3 atoms per molecule. The spectroscopic feature includes an absorption maximum at 610 nm, which could be attributed to type 1 copper. The EPR spectrum was completely devoid of any typical signal of the type 2 copper. The kinetic parameters of the adult camel Cp for the specific activity as p-phenylendiamine oxidase were determined as K(m)=0.42 mM and V(max)=0.93 microM NADH/mn/mg Cp. The optimum pH for the activity was 5.7.