The apparent relatedness of Tunisian Berbers to present-day (North African) Tunisians, Algerians and Moroccans suggests that the Arab invasion of North Africa (7(th)-11(th) centuries AD) did not significantly impact the genetic makeup of North Africans. Furthermore, Tunisian Berbers appear to be closely related to Iberians (Spaniards and Basques), indicating that the 7(th) century AD gene flow of invaders was low in Iberians and that the main part of their genetic pool came after the Northward Saharan migration, when hyper-arid conditions were established in Sahara (before 6000 BC). Other studied populations belong to the old Mediterranean substratum, which has been present in the area since pre-Neolithic times. This study indicates a higher proportion of Iberian than Arab ancestry in Tunisian Berbers, which is of value in evaluating the evolutionary history of present-day Tunisians. Greeks seem to share genetic HLA features (Chr 6) with Sub-Saharans. The relatedness of Greeks to Sub-Saharans has been confirmed by other studies based on chromosome 7 genetic markers.

The gene frequencies of HLA class I and class II alleles were investigated in 95 healthy Tunisian individuals from Gabes. Our aim was to compare the genetic relationship between Gabesians and Mediterraneans and sub-Sahara Africans using genetic distances, Neighbour-Joining dendrograms, correspondence and haplotypes analysis, thereby providing additional information about evolutionary history of modern-day Tunisians. Subjects were unrelated and of both genders, and HLA class I and class II genes were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSO) technique. Our data show that south-eastern Tunisians (Gabes area) are related to present-day North Africans (Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians) and Iberians (Spaniards, Basques), and along with other North Africans, appear to be genetically related to Berbers, an indication that the Arab invasion (7th-11th centuries) of North Africa had minimal contribution on the HLA makeup of North Africans. On the other hand, Iberians including Spaniards and Basques show relatedness to (native Tunisian) Berbers, suggesting that the gene flow of 7th century AD invaders was also low in Iberians. In conclusion, the successive invasions of North Africa in general, and Tunisia in particular, did not modify markedly the genetic makeup of present-day Tunisians. With the exception of Greeks who have a sub-Saharan genetic profile, all Mediterranean populations depict a typical mediterranean substratum.

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Resumen.-Se describen algunos parámetros biológicos de la bacoreta Euthynnus alletteratus en el Golfo de Gabes (sur de Túnez), tales como la proporción de sexos, el Índice Gonado-Somático (IGS), el Índice Hepato-Somático (IHS), la longitud de primera madurez sexual, y la relación longitud-peso. Se analizó un total de 397 specímenes (244 hembras y 153 machos) entre los 36,7 y 97,8 cm de longitud, con un promedio 52,29 ± 5,87 cm. Las muestras se recolectaron mensualmente, entre enero de 2008 y diciembre de 2009. El 61% de los ejemplares fueron hembras. El periodo de desove se extiende de junio a septiembre, calculado a partir de los altos valores de IGS. Las relaciones longitud-peso revelaron que la bacoreta presenta una alometría negativa. La longitud promedio de primera madurez de las muestras tomadas en el Golfo de Gabes fue de 44,8 cm de longitud de horquilla para las hembras y 42,8 cm para los machos.