Cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered domestic ruminants from Tunisia.

A total of 10,818 domestic ruminants (3913 cattle, 2722 sheep, 3779 goats, 404 dromedaries) slaughtered in various abattoirs in Tunisia between 2003 and 2010 were examined for the presence of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cysts. The prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) was 16.42% in sheep, 8.56% in cattle, 5.94% in dromedaries and 2.88% in goats. CE prevalence increased with age according to an asymptotic model and there was evidence of variation in infection pressure depending on the region of Tunisia where the animals were slaughtered. Cattle appeared to have the highest infection pressure of the species examined. The mean intensity of hepatic cysts was higher than that of pulmonary cysts in all species. The highest mean intensity of infection with E. granulosus larvae was observed in cattle (18.14) followed by sheep (9.58), goats (2.31) and dromedaries (2.12). The abundance of infection increased in a linear fashion with age in all animal species. Cyst abundance varied with species of animal and district of Tunisia. Cysts from dromedaries were more fertile (44.44%) than those from sheep (30.25%), goats (30.32%) and cattle (0.95%). The viability of the protoscoleces from fertile cysts from cattle (78.45%) was higher than those from sheep (70.71%) and camels (69.57%). The lowest protoscolex viability was recorded for hydatid cysts from goats (20.21%). This epidemiological study confirms the importance of CE in all domestic ruminant species, particularly in sheep, throughout Tunisia and emphasizes the need to interrupt parasite transmission by preventive integrated approaches in a CE control programme.

Genetic diversity of Tunisian figs (Ficus carica L.) as revealed by nuclear microsatellites.

The present study portrays the achievement of the genetic polymorphism surveying and the establishment of an ecotypes identification key on the basis of simple sequence repeats data. Seventy-two Tunisian fig ecotypes in situ and ex situ conserved were analyzed using six microsatellite loci. A total of 58 alleles and 124 genotypes were revealed and permitted to evidence high degree of genetic diversity mainly explained at the intra group level. Cluster analysis based on genetic distances proved that a typical continuous genetic diversity characterizes the local germplasm. In addition, the microsatellite multilocus genotyping has permitted to unambiguously distinguish 70 well-defined ecotypes (resolving power of 97.22%). Data are discussed in relation with the reliability of the used markers to check the conformity of the plant material and to rationally manage the conservation of this crop.