ALFRED: allele frequency database

The ALlele FREquency Database
ALFRED is a resource of gene frequency data on human populations
supported by the U. S. National Science Foundation.

ALFRED detailed record information

Population Information

Name	ALFRED UID	Primary Language	Language Family
Saharawi	PO000087P	ARABIC, HASSANIYYA	Afro-Asiatic

Synonyms:
Geographic Location¹: 27N, 17W; 22N, 8W

Sites typed for this population: View List
Population Samples: See Sample Information
External Resources: Ethnologue: Language Map Record Ethnologue: Language Description Record The Saharawi refugee camps Record Western Sahara Record
References: See references
Population Description: The Saharawi (Sahraui, Saharuis) are the original inhabitants of the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony south of Morocco. There are estimates of 500,000 to 1 million Saharawi who speak the Hassani dialect of Arabic. Ethnically, they are a mixture of indigenous Berber and Arabic people. Their ancestry can be traced back to the 15th century when tribes from Yemen crossed North Africa established themselves in the Western Sahara region. Strenuous environmental conditions encouraged different tribal groups to coexist. As a result of the amalgamation of these tribes, the Saharawi culture was born.

Traditionally, the Saharawi people were nomadic. However, during the 1960s they became to settle. The Sahrawi gained a sense of group pride after having established themselves in one place. In 1975, they claimed independence from Spain and even through their many struggles as a people they still retain their strong sense of ethnic identity.

Traditional Saharawi governmental structure can still be seen today. Under this system each tribe is equally represented. Disagreements are handled in a sociable way. If this is not possible it is decided in accordance to Islamic law.
References:
- Anonymous "The wind of change in the western Sahara ". Geographical Journal 130:1-14. (1964)

- Ceccatelli EN "La societa Saharawi e la donna". Archivio per l'antropologia e la etnologia 128:173-85. (1998)

Sample Information:

Graph estimated heterozygosities for various sites

Sample Name: Saharawi, unrelated

Sample UID: SA000087P

Sample Description:Collected by J. Bertranpetit. Unrelated individuals from the former Western Sahara.

Number of Chromosomes: 118

Relation to Other Samples:

References:
- Bosch E, Calafell F, Perez-Lezaun A, Clarimon J, Comas D, Mateu E, Martinez-Arias R, Morera B, Brakez Z, Akhayat O, Sefiani A, Hariti G, Cambon-Thomsen A, Bertranpetit J. "Genetic structure of Northwestern Africa revealed by STR analysis". European Journal of Human Genetics 8:360-366. (2000) Online citation.

- Bosch E, Calafell F, Perez-Lezaun A, Comas D, Izaabel H, Akhayat O, Sefiani A, Hariti G, Dugoujon JM, Bertranpetit J. "Y chromosome STR haplotypes in four populations from Northwestern Africa.". International Journal of Legal Medicine 114:36-40. (2000) No URL link out.

- Bosch E, Calafell F, Santos FR, Perez-Lezaun A, Comas D, Benchemsi N, Tyler Smith C, Bertranpetit J. "STR variation is deeply structured by genetic background on the human Y chromosome.". American Journal of Human Genetics 65:1623-1638. (1999) Online citation.

- Bosch E, Clarimon J, Perez-Lezaun A, Calafell F. "STR data for 21 loci in Northwestern Africa.". Forensic Science International 116:41-51. (2001) Online citation.

- Comas D, Calafell F, Benchemsi N, Helal A, Lefranc G, Stoneking M, Batzer MA, Bertranpetit J, Sajantila A. "Alu insertion polymorphisms in NW Africa and the Iberian Peninsula: evidence for a strong genetic boundary through the Gibraltar Straits". Hum Genet 107:312-9. (2000) Online citation.

- Mateu E, Calafell F, Bonne-Tamir B, Kidd JR, Casals T, Kidd KK, Bertranpetit J. "Allele Frequencies in a Worldwide Survey of a CA Repeat in the First Intron of the CFTR Gene". Human Heredity 49:15-20. (1999) Online citation.

- Mateu E, Calafell F, Lao O, Bonne-Tamir B, Kidd JR, Pakstis A, Kidd KK, Bertranpetit J. "Worldwide genetic analysis of the CFTR region". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 68:103-117. (2001) Online citation.

- Perez-Lauzon A, Calafell F, Clarimon J, Bosch E, Mateu E, Gusmao L, Amorim A, Benchemsi N, Bertranpetit J. "Report on allele frequency data on 13 short tandem repeats in a stratified population sample of the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Africa using the AmpFLSTR Profiler Plus, AmpFLSTR Cofiler and AmpFLSTR Green I PCR amplification kits". Internation Journal of Legal Medicine 113:208-214. (2000) Online citation.

¹Geographic Coordinates represent two opposite corners of a rectangle encompassing the area where the population lives.This data is preliminary and changing.

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© 2012 Kenneth K Kidd, Yale University. All rights reserved. The full Copyright Notification is also available.
Originally prototyped by Michael Osier with the aid of Kei Cheung
Upgrades and maintenance since 2002 by Haseena Rajeevan