Genetic genealogy reveals true Y haplogroup of House of Bourbon contradicting recent identification of the presumed remains of two French Kings

Identifying a living great-grandson of the Lakota Sioux leader Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull)

A great-grandson of the legendary Lakota Sioux leader Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake), Ernie LaPointe, wished to have their familial relationship confirmed via genetic analysis, in part, to help settle concerns over Sitting Bull’s final resting place. To address Ernie LaPointe’s claim of family relationship, we obtained minor amounts of genomic data from a small piece of hair from Sitting Bull’s scalp lock, which was repatriated in 2007. We then compared these data to genome-wide data from LaPointe and other Lakota Sioux using a new probabilistic approach and concluded that Ernie LaPointe is Sitting Bull’s great-grandson. To our knowledge, this is the first published example of a familial relationship between contemporary and a historical individual that has been confirmed using such limited amounts of ancient DNA across such distant relatives. Hence, this study opens the possibility for broadening genealogical research, even when only minor amounts of ancient genetic material are accessible.

Beyond simple kinship and identification: aDNA analyses from a 17th-19th century crypt in Germany

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis is a powerful tool in multidisciplinary research on human remains, potentially leading to kinship scenarios and historical identifications. In this study, we present a genetic investigation of three noble families from the 17th to 19th centuries AD entombed in burial crypts at the cloister church of Riesa (Germany). Tests were aimed at identifying anticipated and incidental genetic relationships in our sample and the implications thereof for the assumed identity of the deceased. A total of 17 individuals were investigated via morphological, radiographic and aDNA analysis, yielding complete and partial autosomal and Y-STR profiles and reliable mtDNA sequences. Biostatistics and lineage markers revealed the presence of first to third degree relationships within the cohort. The pedigrees of the families Hanisch/von Odeleben and von Welck were thereby successfully reproduced, while four previously unknown individuals could be linked to the von Felgenhauer family. However, limitations of biostatistical kinship analysis became evident when the kinship scenario went beyond simple relationships. A combined analysis with archaeological data and historical records resulted in (almost) unambiguous identification of 14 of the 17 individuals.

Historical human remains identification through maternal and paternal genetic signatures in a founder population with extensive genealogical record

OBJECTIVES

We describe a method to identify human remains excavated from unmarked graves in historical Québec cemeteries by combining parental-lineage genetic markers with the whole-population genealogy of Québec contained in the BALSAC database.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The remains of six men were exhumed from four historical cemeteries in the province of Québec, Canada. DNA was extracted from the remains and genotyped to reveal their mitochondrial and Y-chromosome haplotypes, which were compared to a collection of haplotypes of genealogically-anchored modern volunteers. Maternal and paternal genealogies were searched in the BALSAC genealogical record for parental couples matching the mitochondrial and the Y-chromosome haplotypic signatures, to identify candidate sons from whom the remains could have originated.

RESULTS

Analysis of the matching genealogies identified the parents of one man inhumed in the cemetery of the investigated parish during its operating time. The candidate individual died in 1833 at the age of 58, a plausible age at death in light of osteological analysis of the remains.

DISCUSSION

This study demonstrates the promising potential of coupling genetic information from living individuals to genealogical data in BALSAC to identify historical human remains. If genetic coverage is increased, the genealogical information in BALSAC could enable the identification of 87% of the men (n = 178,435) married in Québec before 1850, with high discriminatory power in most cases since >75% of the parental couples have unique biparental signatures in most regions. Genotyping and identifying Québec's historical human remains are a key to reconstructing the genomes of the founders of Québec and reinhuming archeological remains with a marked grave.

Molecular genealogy of Tusi Lu's family reveals their paternal relationship with Jochi, Genghis Khan's eldest son

Genghis Khan's lineage has attracted both academic and general interest because of its mystery and large influence. However, the truth behind the mystery is complicated and continues to confound the scientific study. In this study, we surveyed the molecular genealogy of Northwestern China's Lu clan who claim to be the descendants of the sixth son of Genghis Khan, Toghan. We also investigated living members of the Huo and Tuo clans, who, according to oral tradition, were close male relatives of Lu clan. Using network analysis, we found that the Y-chromosomal haplotypes of Lu clan mainly belong to haplogroup C2b1a1b1-F1756, widely prevalent in Altaic-speaking populations, and are closely related to the Tore clan from Kazakhstan, who claim to be the descendants of the first son of Genghis Khan, Jochi. The most recent common ancestor of the special haplotype cluster that includes the Lu clan and Tore clan lived about 1000 years ago (YA), while the Huo and Tuo clans do not share any Y lineages with the Lu clan. In addition to the reported lineages, such as C3*-Star Cluster, R1b-M343, and Q, our results indicate that haplogroup C2b1a1b1-F1756 might be another candidate of the true Y lineage of Genghis Khan.

Rudolf Hess - The Doppelgänger conspiracy theory disproved

The Deputy Führer of the Third Reich Rudolf Hess was captured after a controversial flight to Scotland in 1941. Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He was detained in Berlin's Spandau Prison under the official security designation 'Spandau #7.' Early doubts arose about the true identity of prisoner 'Spandau #7.' This evolved to a frequently espoused conspiracy theory that prisoner 'Spandau #7' was an imposter and not Rudolf Hess. After Hess's reputed 1987 suicide, the family grave became a Neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. In 2011, the grave was abandoned and the family remains cremated. Here we report the forensic DNA analysis of the only known extant DNA sample from prisoner 'Spandau #7' and a match to the Hess male line, thereby refuting the Doppelgänger Theory.

The biological relevance of a medieval king's DNA

The discovery of the presumably lost grave of the controversial English king Richard III in Leicester (U.K.) was one of the most important archaeological achievements of the last decennium. The skeleton was identified beyond reasonable doubt, mainly by the match of mitochondrial DNA to that of living maternal relatives, along with the specific archaeological context. Since the genetic genealogical analysis only involved the DNA sequences of a single 15th century individual and a few reference persons, biologists might consider this investigation a mere curiosity. This mini-review shows that the unique context of a historical king's DNA also has relevance for biological research per se — in addition to the more obvious historical, societal and educational value. In the first place, the historical identification appeared to be a renewed forensic case realising a conservative statement with statistical power based on genetic and non-genetic data, including discordant elements. Secondly, the observation of historical non-paternity events within Richard III's patrilineage has given rise to new research questions about potential factors influencing the extra-pair paternity rate in humans and the importance of biological relatedness for the legal recognition of a child in the past. Thirdly, the identification of a named and dated skeleton with the known historical context serves as a reference for bioarchaeological investigations and studies on the spatio-temporal distribution of particular genetic variance. Finally, the Richard III case revealed privacy issues for living relatives which appear to be inherent to any publication of genetic genealogical data.

Biohistorical materials and contemporary privacy concerns-the forensic case of King Albert I

The rapid advancement of technology in genomic analysis increasingly allows researchers to study human biohistorical materials. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the privacy of the donor's living relatives and the negative impact they might experience from the (public) availability of genetic results, even in cases of scientific, forensic or historical relevance. This issue has become clear during a cold case investigation of a relic attributed to Belgian King and World War I-hero Albert I who died, according to the official version, in a solo climbing accident in 1934. Authentication of the relic with blood stains assigned to the King and collected on the place where his body was discovered is recognised as one of the final opportunities to test the plausibility of various conspiracy theories on the King's demise. While the historical value and current technological developments allow the genomic analysis of this relic, publication of genetic data would immediately lead to privacy concerns for living descendants and relatives of the King, including the Belgian and British royal families, even after more than 80 years. Therefore, the authentication study of the relic of King Albert I has been a difficult exercise towards balancing public research interests and privacy interests. The identification of the relic was realised by using a strict genetic genealogical approach including Y-chromosome and mitochondrial genome comparison with living relatives, thereby limiting the analysis to genomic regions relevant for identification. The genetic results combined with all available historical elements concerning the relic, provide strong evidence that King Albert I was indeed the donor of the blood stains, which is in line with the official climbing accident hypothesis and contradicts widespread 'mise-en-scène' scenarios. Since publication of the haploid data of the blood stains has the potential to violate the privacy of living relatives, we opted for external and independent reviewing of (the quality of) our data and statistical interpretation by external forensic experts in haploid markers to guarantee the objectivity and scientific accuracy of the identification data analysis as well as the privacy of living descendants and relatives. Although the cold case investigation provided relevant insights into the circumstances surrounding the death of King Albert I, it also revealed the insufficient ethical guidance for current genomic studies of biohistorical material.

Human mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA isolation from food bite marks

OBJECTIVE

Bite mark analysis is used for comparison between bite marks on a bitten object and the suspects' teeth. However, if it is not possible to obtain a correct match, it is important to recover salivary DNA. Previous studies have tried to isolate human nuclear DNA from bitten foods but were not completely successful. In the present work, we studied the efficiency of human nuclear and mitochondrial DNA isolation from bite marks in cheese, a donut and an apple.

DESIGN

Using a double swab technique and silica-based DNA extraction kit, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA were isolated. Human housekeeping genes were amplified to analyse the efficiency of nuclear DNA profiling. mtDNA was sequencing and haplogroup assign.

RESULTS

Although cheese and apple samples showed the highest concentration of DNA, the purity of DNA on the apple was low. Moreover, apple samples failed to amplify the two human housekeeping genes, GAPDH and RPL22. In contrast, cheese samples have high purity and amplification efficiency. Donut samples showed an intermediate value and low amplification efficiency. In spite of these results, isolation and characterization/sequencing of human mitochondrial DNA was completely successful in the three samples, which pointed out the possibility of identification through this type of DNA.

CONCLUSIONS

This research indicated that it is possible to recover and isolate human nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from bitten foods, although the quantity and purity of nuclear DNA depends on the type of food. That is of significance important in forensic sciences for the correct identification of a suspect.

The Paternal Landscape along the Bight of Benin - Testing Regional Representativeness of West-African Population Samples Using Y-Chromosomal Markers

Patterns of genetic variation in human populations across the African continent are still not well studied in comparison with Eurasia and America, despite the high genetic and cultural diversity among African populations. In population and forensic genetic studies a single sample is often used to represent a complete African region. In such a scenario, inappropriate sampling strategies and/or the use of local, isolated populations may bias interpretations and pose questions of representativeness at a macrogeographic-scale. The non-recombining region of the Y-chromosome (NRY) has great potential to reveal the regional representation of a sample due to its powerful phylogeographic information content. An area poorly characterized for Y-chromosomal data is the West-African region along the Bight of Benin, despite its important history in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and its large number of ethnic groups, languages and lifestyles. In this study, Y-chromosomal haplotypes from four Beninese populations were determined and a global meta-analysis with available Y-SNP and Y-STR data from populations along the Bight of Benin and surrounding areas was performed. A thorough methodology was developed allowing comparison of population samples using Y-chromosomal lineage data based on different Y-SNP panels and phylogenies. Geographic proximity turned out to be the best predictor of genetic affinity between populations along the Bight of Benin. Nevertheless, based on Y-chromosomal data from the literature two population samples differed strongly from others from the same or neighbouring areas and are not regionally representative within large-scale studies. Furthermore, the analysis of the HapMap sample YRI of a Yoruban population from South-western Nigeria based on Y-SNPs and Y-STR data showed for the first time its regional representativeness, a result which is important for standard population and forensic genetic applications using the YRI sample. Therefore, the uniquely and powerful geographical information carried by the Y-chromosome makes it an important locus to test the representativeness of a certain sample even in the genomic era, especially in poorly investigated areas like Africa.

Genomic analysis of the blood attributed to Louis XVI (1754-1793), king of France

A pyrographically decorated gourd, dated to the French Revolution period, has been alleged to contain a handkerchief dipped into the blood of the French king Louis XVI (1754–1793) after his beheading but recent analyses of living males from two Bourbon branches cast doubts on its authenticity. We sequenced the complete genome of the DNA contained in the gourd at low coverage (~2.5×) with coding sequences enriched at a higher ~7.3× coverage. We found that the ancestry of the gourd's genome does not seem compatible with Louis XVI's known ancestry. From a functional perspective, we did not find an excess of alleles contributing to height despite being described as the tallest person in Court. In addition, the eye colour prediction supported brown eyes, while Louis XVI had blue eyes. This is the first draft genome generated from a person who lived in a recent historical period; however, our results suggest that this sample may not correspond to the alleged king.

Low historical rates of cuckoldry in a Western European human population traced by Y-chromosome and genealogical data

Recent evidence suggests that seeking out extra-pair paternity (EPP) can be a viable alternative reproductive strategy for both males and females in many pair-bonded species, including humans. Accurate data on EPP rates in humans, however, are scant and mostly restricted to extant populations. Here, we provide the first large-scale, unbiased genetic study of historical EPP rates in a Western European human population based on combining Y-chromosomal data to infer genetic patrilineages with genealogical and surname data, which reflect known historical presumed paternity. Using two independent methods, we estimate that over the last few centuries, EPP rates in Flanders (Belgium) were only around 1–2% per generation. This figure is substantially lower than the 8–30% per generation reported in some behavioural studies on historical EPP rates, but comparable with the rates reported by other genetic studies of contemporary Western European populations. These results suggest that human EPP rates have not changed substantially during the last 400 years in Flanders and imply that legal genealogies rarely differ from the biological ones. This result has significant implications for a diverse set of fields, including human population genetics, historical demography, forensic science and human sociobiology.