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Gnecchi-Ruscone GA, Rácz Z, Samu L, Szeniczey T, Faragó N, Knipper C, Friedrich R, Zlámalová D, Traverso L, Liccardo S, Wabnitz S, Popli D, Wang K, Radzeviciute R, Gulyás B, Koncz I, Balogh C, Lezsák GM, Mácsai V, Bunbury MME, Spekker O, le Roux P, Szécsényi-Nagy A, Mende BG, Colleran H, Hajdu T, Geary P, Pohl W, Vida T, Krause J, Hofmanová Z. Network of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities. Nature 2024; 629:376-383. [PMID: 38658749 PMCID: PMC11078744 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07312-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
From AD 567-568, at the onset of the Avar period, populations from the Eurasian Steppe settled in the Carpathian Basin for approximately 250 years1. Extensive sampling for archaeogenomics (424 individuals) and isotopes, combined with archaeological, anthropological and historical contextualization of four Avar-period cemeteries, allowed for a detailed description of the genomic structure of these communities and their kinship and social practices. We present a set of large pedigrees, reconstructed using ancient DNA, spanning nine generations and comprising around 300 individuals. We uncover a strict patrilineal kinship system, in which patrilocality and female exogamy were the norm and multiple reproductive partnering and levirate unions were common. The absence of consanguinity indicates that this society maintained a detailed memory of ancestry over generations. These kinship practices correspond with previous evidence from historical sources and anthropological research on Eurasian Steppe societies2. Network analyses of identity-by-descent DNA connections suggest that social cohesion between communities was maintained via female exogamy. Finally, despite the absence of major ancestry shifts, the level of resolution of our analyses allowed us to detect genetic discontinuity caused by the replacement of a community at one of the sites. This was paralleled with changes in the archaeological record and was probably a result of local political realignment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zsófia Rácz
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Levente Samu
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Szeniczey
- Department of Biological Anthropology, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Norbert Faragó
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Corina Knipper
- Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Ronny Friedrich
- Curt Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry gGmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Denisa Zlámalová
- Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Luca Traverso
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Salvatore Liccardo
- Department of History, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sandra Wabnitz
- Department of History, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Divyaratan Popli
- Department of Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ke Wang
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Rita Radzeviciute
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - István Koncz
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Csilla Balogh
- Department of Art History, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gabriella M Lezsák
- Institute of History, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Viktor Mácsai
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Magdalena M E Bunbury
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Olga Spekker
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Petrus le Roux
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Anna Szécsényi-Nagy
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Gusztáv Mende
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Heidi Colleran
- BirthRites Lise Meitner Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tamás Hajdu
- Department of Biological Anthropology, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Walter Pohl
- Department of History, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tivadar Vida
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, ELTE - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
- Institute of Archaeology, HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Zuzana Hofmanová
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.
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2
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Mallick S, Micco A, Mah M, Ringbauer H, Lazaridis I, Olalde I, Patterson N, Reich D. The Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR) a curated compendium of ancient human genomes. Sci Data 2024; 11:182. [PMID: 38341426 PMCID: PMC10858950 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03031-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
More than two hundred papers have reported genome-wide data from ancient humans. While the raw data for the vast majority are fully publicly available testifying to the commitment of the paleogenomics community to open data, formats for both raw data and meta-data differ. There is thus a need for uniform curation and a centralized, version-controlled compendium that researchers can download, analyze, and reference. Since 2019, we have been maintaining the Allen Ancient DNA Resource (AADR), which aims to provide an up-to-date, curated version of the world's published ancient human DNA data, represented at more than a million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at which almost all ancient individuals have been assayed. The AADR has gone through six public releases at the time of writing and review of this manuscript, and crossed the threshold of >10,000 individuals with published genome-wide ancient DNA data at the end of 2022. This note is intended as a citable descriptor of the AADR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swapan Mallick
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Adam Micco
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Matthew Mah
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Harald Ringbauer
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Iosif Lazaridis
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Iñigo Olalde
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- BIOMICs Research Group, University of the Basque Country, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Nick Patterson
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - David Reich
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
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3
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Cox SL, Nicklisch N, Francken M, Wahl J, Meller H, Haak W, Alt KW, Rosenstock E, Mathieson I. Socio-cultural practices may have affected sex differences in stature in Early Neolithic Europe. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:243-255. [PMID: 38081999 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01756-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
The rules and structure of human culture impact health as much as genetics or environment. To study these relationships, we combine ancient DNA (n = 230), skeletal metrics (n = 391), palaeopathology (n = 606) and dietary stable isotopes (n = 873) to analyse stature variation in Early Neolithic Europeans from North Central, South Central, Balkan and Mediterranean regions. In North Central Europe, stable isotopes and linear enamel hypoplasias indicate high environmental stress across sexes, but female stature is low, despite polygenic scores identical to males, and suggests that cultural factors preferentially supported male recovery from stress. In Mediterranean populations, sexual dimorphism is reduced, indicating male vulnerability to stress and no strong cultural preference for males. Our analysis indicates that biological effects of sex-specific inequities can be linked to cultural influences at least as early as 7,000 yr ago, and culture, more than environment or genetics, drove height disparities in Early Neolithic Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L Cox
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Physical Anthropology Section, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Nicole Nicklisch
- Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University, Krems-Stein, Austria
| | - Michael Francken
- State Office for Cultural Heritage Management Baden-Württemberg, Osteology, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Joachim Wahl
- Paleoanthropology Section, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kurt W Alt
- Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University, Krems-Stein, Austria
| | - Eva Rosenstock
- Bonn Center for ArchaeoSciences, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Iain Mathieson
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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4
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Childebayeva A, Zavala EI. Review: Computational analysis of human skeletal remains in ancient DNA and forensic genetics. iScience 2023; 26:108066. [PMID: 37927550 PMCID: PMC10622734 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Degraded DNA is used to answer questions in the fields of ancient DNA (aDNA) and forensic genetics. While aDNA studies typically center around human evolution and past history, and forensic genetics is often more concerned with identifying a specific individual, scientists in both fields face similar challenges. The overlap in source material has prompted periodic discussions and studies on the advantages of collaboration between fields toward mutually beneficial methodological advancements. However, most have been centered around wet laboratory methods (sampling, DNA extraction, library preparation, etc.). In this review, we focus on the computational side of the analytical workflow. We discuss limitations and considerations to consider when working with degraded DNA. We hope this review provides a framework to researchers new to computational workflows for how to think about analyzing highly degraded DNA and prompts an increase of collaboration between the forensic genetics and aDNA fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ainash Childebayeva
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Elena I. Zavala
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
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5
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Blöcher J, Brami M, Feinauer IS, Stolarczyk E, Diekmann Y, Vetterdietz L, Karapetian M, Winkelbach L, Kokot V, Vallini L, Stobbe A, Haak W, Papageorgopoulou C, Krause R, Sharapova S, Burger J. Descent, marriage, and residence practices of a 3,800-year-old pastoral community in Central Eurasia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2303574120. [PMID: 37603728 PMCID: PMC10483636 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2303574120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of prehistoric societal organization at the family level is still limited. Here, we generated genome data from 32 individuals from an approximately 3,800-y-old burial mound attributed to the Bronze Age Srubnaya-Alakul cultural tradition at the site of Nepluyevsky, located in the Southern Ural region of Central Eurasia. We found that life expectancy was generally very low, with adult males living on average 8 y longer than females. A total of 35 first-degree, 40 second-degree, and 48 third-degree biological relationships connected 23 of the studied individuals, allowing us to propose a family tree spanning three generations with six brothers at its center. The oldest of these brothers had eight children with two women and the most children overall, whereas the other relationships were monogamous. Notably, related female children above the age of five were completely absent from the site, and adult females were more genetically diverse than males. These results suggest that biological relationships between male siblings played a structural role in society and that descent group membership was based on patrilineality. Women originated from a larger mating network and moved to join the men, with whom they were buried. Finally, the oldest brother likely held a higher social position, which was expressed in terms of fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Blöcher
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
| | - Maxime Brami
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
| | - Isabelle Sofie Feinauer
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm10691, Sweden
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm10405, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm10691, Sweden
| | - Eliza Stolarczyk
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am MainD-60629, Germany
| | - Yoan Diekmann
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
| | - Lisa Vetterdietz
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
| | - Marina Karapetian
- Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow125009, Russia
| | - Laura Winkelbach
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
| | - Vanessa Kokot
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
| | | | - Astrid Stobbe
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am MainD-60629, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Christina Papageorgopoulou
- Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini69100, Greece
| | - Rüdiger Krause
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am MainD-60629, Germany
| | - Svetlana Sharapova
- Institute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Ekaterinburg620108, Russia
| | - Joachim Burger
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Palaeogenetics Group, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
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Gerber D, Szeifert B, Székely O, Egyed B, Gyuris B, Giblin JI, Horváth A, Köhler K, Kulcsár G, Kustár Á, Major I, Molnár M, Palcsu L, Szeverényi V, Fábián S, Mende BG, Bondár M, Ari E, Kiss V, Szécsényi-Nagy A. Interdisciplinary Analyses of Bronze Age Communities from Western Hungary Reveal Complex Population Histories. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad182. [PMID: 37562011 PMCID: PMC10473862 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we report 21 ancient shotgun genomes from present-day Western Hungary, from previously understudied Late Copper Age Baden, and Bronze Age Somogyvár-Vinkovci, Kisapostag, and Encrusted Pottery archeological cultures (3,530-1,620 cal Bce). Our results indicate the presence of high steppe ancestry in the Somogyvár-Vinkovci culture. They were then replaced by the Kisapostag group, who exhibit an outstandingly high (up to ∼47%) Mesolithic hunter-gatherer ancestry, despite this component being thought to be highly diluted by the time of the Early Bronze Age. The Kisapostag population contributed the genetic basis for the succeeding community of the Encrusted Pottery culture. We also found an elevated hunter-gatherer component in a local Baden culture-associated individual, but no connections were proven to the Bronze Age individuals. The hunter-gatherer ancestry in Kisapostag is likely derived from two main sources, one from a Funnelbeaker or Globular Amphora culture-related population and one from a previously unrecognized source in Eastern Europe. We show that this ancestry not only appeared in various groups in Bronze Age Central Europe but also made contributions to Baltic populations. The social structure of Kisapostag and Encrusted Pottery cultures is patrilocal, similarly to most contemporaneous groups. Furthermore, we developed new methods and method standards for computational analyses of ancient DNA, implemented to our newly developed and freely available bioinformatic package. By analyzing clinical traits, we found carriers of aneuploidy and inheritable genetic diseases. Finally, based on genetic and anthropological data, we present here the first female facial reconstruction from the Bronze Age Carpathian Basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dániel Gerber
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Genetics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Biology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bea Szeifert
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Genetics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Biology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Székely
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Egyed
- Department of Genetics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Gyuris
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Genetics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Biology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Julia I Giblin
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, USA
| | - Anikó Horváth
- Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research (ICER) Centre, Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Kitti Köhler
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Kulcsár
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - István Major
- Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research (ICER) Centre, Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Mihály Molnár
- Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research (ICER) Centre, Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - László Palcsu
- Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research (ICER) Centre, Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary
| | | | | | - Balázs Gusztáv Mende
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Mária Bondár
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Ari
- Department of Genetics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- HCEMM-BRC Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged, Hungary
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Szeged, Hungary
| | - Viktória Kiss
- Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
| | - Anna Szécsényi-Nagy
- Institute of Archaeogenomics, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH), Budapest, Hungary
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7
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Neocleous V, Fanis P, Frangos S, Skordis N, Phylactou LA. RET Proto-Oncogene Variants in Patients with Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma from the Mediterranean Basin: A Brief Report. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1332. [PMID: 37374115 DOI: 10.3390/life13061332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is an autosomal dominant (AD) condition with very high penetrance and expressivity. It is characterized into three clinical entities recognized as MEN2A, MEN2B, and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC). In both MEN2A and MEN2B, there is a manifestation of multicentric tumor formation in the major organs such as the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands where the RET proto-oncogene is expressed. The FMTC form differs from MEN2A and MEN2B, since medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is the only feature observed. In this present brief report, we demonstrate a collection of RET proto-oncogene genotype data from countries around the Mediterranean Basin with variable characteristics. As expected, a great extent of the Mediterranean RET proto-oncogene genotype data resemble the data reported globally. Most interestingly, higher frequencies are observed in the Mediterranean region for specific pathogenic RET variants as a result of local prevalence. The latter can be explained by founder effect phenomena. The Mediterranean epidemiological data that are presented herein are very important for domestic patients, their family members' evaluation, and ultimately their treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vassos Neocleous
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Function and Therapy, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Pavlos Fanis
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Function and Therapy, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Savvas Frangos
- Nuclear Medicine Department, Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus
| | - Nicos Skordis
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Function and Therapy, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Division of Paediatric Endocrinology, Paedi Center for Specialized Paediatrics, Nicosia 2024, Cyprus
- School of Medicine, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
| | - Leonidas A Phylactou
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Function and Therapy, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
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8
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Pandey D, Harris M, Garud NR, Narasimhan VM. Understanding natural selection in Holocene Europe using multi-locus genotype identity scans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.24.538113. [PMID: 37163039 PMCID: PMC10168228 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.24.538113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Ancient DNA (aDNA) has been a revolutionary technology in understanding human history but has not been used extensively to study natural selection as large sample sizes to study allele frequency changes over time have thus far not been available. Here, we examined a time transect of 708 published samples over the past 7,000 years of European history using multi-locus genotype-based selection scans. As aDNA data is affected by high missingness, ascertainment bias, DNA damage, random allele calling, and is unphased, we first validated our selection scan, G 12 a n c i e n t , on simulated data resembling aDNA under a demographic model that captures broad features of the allele frequency spectrum of European genomes as well as positive controls that have been previously identified and functionally validated in modern European datasets on data from ancient individuals from time periods very close to the present time. We then applied our statistic to the aDNA time transect to detect and resolve the timing of natural selection occurring genome wide and found several candidates of selection across the different time periods that had not been picked up by selection scans using single SNP allele frequency approaches. In addition, enrichment analysis discovered multiple categories of complex traits that might be under adaptation across these periods. Our results demonstrate the utility of applying different types of selection scans to aDNA to uncover putative selection signals at loci in the ancient past that might have been masked in modern samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devansh Pandey
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
| | - Mariana Harris
- Department of Computational Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Nandita R Garud
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
- Department of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Vagheesh M Narasimhan
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, The University of Texas at Austin
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9
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Davy T, Ju D, Mathieson I, Skoglund P. Hunter-gatherer admixture facilitated natural selection in Neolithic European farmers. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1365-1371.e3. [PMID: 36963383 PMCID: PMC10153476 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
Ancient DNA has revealed multiple episodes of admixture in human prehistory during geographic expansions associated with cultural innovations. One important example is the expansion of Neolithic agricultural groups out of the Near East into Europe and their consequent admixture with Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.1,2,3,4 Ancient genomes from this period provide an opportunity to study the role of admixture in providing new genetic variation for selection to act upon, and also to identify genomic regions that resisted hunter-gatherer introgression and may thus have contributed to agricultural adaptations. We used genome-wide DNA from 677 individuals spanning Mesolithic and Neolithic Europe to infer ancestry deviations in the genomes of admixed individuals and to test for natural selection after admixture by testing for deviations from a genome-wide null distribution. We find that the region around the pigmentation-associated gene SLC24A5 shows the greatest overrepresentation of Neolithic local ancestry in the genome (|Z| = 3.46). In contrast, we find the greatest overrepresentation of Mesolithic ancestry across the major histocompatibility complex (MHC; |Z| = 4.21), a major immunity locus, which also shows allele frequency deviations indicative of selection following admixture (p = 1 × 10-56). This could reflect negative frequency-dependent selection on MHC alleles common in Neolithic populations or that Mesolithic alleles were positively selected for and facilitated adaptation in Neolithic populations to pathogens or other environmental factors. Our study extends previous results that highlight immune function and pigmentation as targets of adaptation in more recent populations to selection processes in the Stone Age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Davy
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, NW1 1AT London, UK.
| | - Dan Ju
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 415 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Iain Mathieson
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 415 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Pontus Skoglund
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, NW1 1AT London, UK.
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Le MK, Smith OS, Akbari A, Harpak A, Reich D, Narasimhan VM. 1,000 ancient genomes uncover 10,000 years of natural selection in Europe. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2022:2022.08.24.505188. [PMID: 36052370 PMCID: PMC9435429 DOI: 10.1101/2022.08.24.505188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Ancient DNA has revolutionized our understanding of human population history. However, its potential to examine how rapid cultural evolution to new lifestyles may have driven biological adaptation has not been met, largely due to limited sample sizes. We assembled genome-wide data from 1,291 individuals from Europe over 10,000 years, providing a dataset that is large enough to resolve the timing of selection into the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Historical periods. We identified 25 genetic loci with rapid changes in frequency during these periods, a majority of which were previously undetected. Signals specific to the Neolithic transition are associated with body weight, diet, and lipid metabolism-related phenotypes. They also include immune phenotypes, most notably a locus that confers immunity to Salmonella infection at a time when ancient Salmonella genomes have been shown to adapt to human hosts, thus providing a possible example of human-pathogen co-evolution. In the Bronze Age, selection signals are enriched near genes involved in pigmentation and immune-related traits, including at a key human protein interactor of SARS-CoV-2. Only in the Historical period do the selection candidates we detect largely mirror previously-reported signals, highlighting how the statistical power of previous studies was limited to the last few millennia. The Historical period also has multiple signals associated with vitamin D binding, providing evidence that lactase persistence may have been part of an oligogenic adaptation for efficient calcium uptake and challenging the theory that its adaptive value lies only in facilitating caloric supplementation during times of scarcity. Finally, we detect selection on complex traits in all three periods, including selection favoring variants that reduce body weight in the Neolithic. In the Historical period, we detect selection favoring variants that increase risk for cardiovascular disease plausibly reflecting selection for a more active inflammatory response that would have been adaptive in the face of increased infectious disease exposure. Our results provide an evolutionary rationale for the high prevalence of these deadly diseases in modern societies today and highlight the unique power of ancient DNA in elucidating biological change that accompanied the profound cultural transformations of recent human history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan K Le
- Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin
| | - Olivia S Smith
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
| | - Ali Akbari
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
| | - Arbel Harpak
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
- Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School
| | - David Reich
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
| | - Vagheesh M Narasimhan
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, The University of Texas at Austin
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