Salim, M. A. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2021

Forest loss in Indonesian New Guinea: trends, drivers, and outlook

The rich forests of Indonesian New Guinea are threatened. We used satellite data to examine annual forest loss, road development and plantation expansion from 2001 to 2019, then developed a model to predict future deforestation in this understudied region. In 2019, 34.29 million hectares (Mha), or 83% of Indonesian New Guinea, supported old-growth forest. Over nineteen years, two percent (0.75 Mha) were cleared: 45% (0.34 Mha) converted to industrial plantations, roads, mine tailings, or other uses near cities; 55% (0.41 Mha) cleared by transient processes including selective natural timber extraction, inland water bodies-related processes, fires, and shifting agriculture. Industrial plantations expanded by 0.23 Mha, with the majority (0.21 Mha; 28% of forest loss) replacing forests and reaching 0.28 Mha in 2019 (97% oil palm; 3% pulpwood). The Trans-Papua Highway, a ~4,000 km national investment project, increased by 1,554 km. Positive correlations between highway and plantations expansion indicate these are linked processes. Plantations and roads grew rapidly after 2011, peaked in 2015/16, and declined thereafter. Indonesian government allocated 2.62 Mha of land for the development of industrial plantations (90% oil palm 10% pulpwood) of which 74% (1.95 Mha) remained forest in 2019. A spatial model predicts that an additional 4.5 Mha of forest could be cleared by 2036 if Indonesian New Guinea follows similar relationships to Indonesian Borneo. We highlight the opportunities for policy reform and the importance of working with indigenous communities, local leaders, and provincial government to protect the biological and cultural richness still embodied in this remarkable region.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Molecular Genetic Analysis of RB1 gene among Sudanese children with Retinoblastoma

BACKGROUNDRetinoblastoma (RB), the commonest early childhood intraocular tumor, is most often related to mutations in the RB1 gene with an incidence of 3% of all pediatric tumors. It has good prognosis if diagnosed early but it is life-threatening when diagnosed late.\n\nOBJECTIVETo study the Molecular Genetic Analysis of Retinoblastoma (RB) in Sudanese families.\n\nMETHODSThirty one (n=31) clinically and histopathologically diagnosed cases of RB attending Makkah Eye Complex (MEC) Orbit clinic (Khartoum, Sudan) were included in this Molecular Genetic RB Analysis. Fresh blood samples extracted from seven RB patients and 15 close families for DNA extraction and PCR were sent for Genetic Sequencing and In silico approach for \"Exon 18 mutations\" which is one of the highly mutated exons worldwide.\n\nRESULTSThe majority of patients (41.9%) were below five years old. Females were 58.1%, males were 41.9%. Leukocoria was the commonest sign at presentation (41.9%). RB Unilaterality were in (77.4%) while Bilaterality in 19.4%. Both eyes were equally affected 50% each. The age at diagnosis time ranged from 0.02 to five years. Consanguinity of parents was very high (85.7%), the 1st degree cousins were less (28.6%) while the 2nd degree was high (57.1%). The patients ethnic background and geographical area were from seven different tribes; all belong to the Western Sudan. The molecular genetic study showed that exon 18 was free of mutation among the seven patients + their three relatives. The Functional Analysis and (SNPs) prediction study of exon 18 from NCBI data base showed that the various computational approaches used (SIFT, PolyPhen-2, I-mutant and Project hope) identified 16 reported mutations worldwide, three of which (rs137853292, rs375645171 and rs772068738) are major nsSNPs (non-synonymous) which might contribute to native RB1 protein malfunction and ultimately causing carcinoma.\n\nCONCLUSIONRB mainly affected children under five years and both sexes are equally affected. Unilaterality was predominant. Consanguinity plays a role in inheritance and the majority of patients were from Western Sudan. The most commonly detected deleterious mutations worldwide in exon 18 were not found in the Sudanese studies samples. Further screening for the highly reported mutations in exons 8, 10 and 14 or Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) are recommended. In silico tools are useful in studying the functional analysis of SNPs.

molecular biology↗