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Schiffels S, Haak W, Paajanen P, Llamas B, Popescu E, Loe L, Clarke R, Lyons A, Mortimer R, Sayer D, Tyler-Smith C, Cooper A, Durbin R. Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon genomes from East England reveal British migration history. Nat Commun 2016; 7:10408. [PMID: 26783965 PMCID: PMC4735688 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
British population history has been shaped by a series of immigrations, including the early Anglo-Saxon migrations after 400 CE. It remains an open question how these events affected the genetic composition of the current British population. Here, we present whole-genome sequences from 10 individuals excavated close to Cambridge in the East of England, ranging from the late Iron Age to the middle Anglo-Saxon period. By analysing shared rare variants with hundreds of modern samples from Britain and Europe, we estimate that on average the contemporary East English population derives 38% of its ancestry from Anglo-Saxon migrations. We gain further insight with a new method, rarecoal, which infers population history and identifies fine-scale genetic ancestry from rare variants. Using rarecoal we find that the Anglo-Saxon samples are closely related to modern Dutch and Danish populations, while the Iron Age samples share ancestors with multiple Northern European populations including Britain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Pirita Paajanen
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Bastien Llamas
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Popescu
- Oxford Archaeology East, 15 Trafalgar Way, Bar Hill, Cambridge CB23 8SQ, UK
| | - Louise Loe
- Oxford Archaeology South, Janus House, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
| | - Rachel Clarke
- Oxford Archaeology East, 15 Trafalgar Way, Bar Hill, Cambridge CB23 8SQ, UK
| | - Alice Lyons
- Oxford Archaeology East, 15 Trafalgar Way, Bar Hill, Cambridge CB23 8SQ, UK
| | - Richard Mortimer
- Oxford Archaeology East, 15 Trafalgar Way, Bar Hill, Cambridge CB23 8SQ, UK
| | - Duncan Sayer
- School of Forensic and Applied Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
| | | | - Alan Cooper
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Richard Durbin
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
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Martiniano R, Caffell A, Holst M, Hunter-Mann K, Montgomery J, Müldner G, McLaughlin RL, Teasdale MD, van Rheenen W, Veldink JH, van den Berg LH, Hardiman O, Carroll M, Roskams S, Oxley J, Morgan C, Thomas MG, Barnes I, McDonnell C, Collins MJ, Bradley DG. Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Saxons. Nat Commun 2016; 7:10326. [PMID: 26783717 PMCID: PMC4735653 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 11/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The purported migrations that have formed the peoples of Britain have been the focus of generations of scholarly controversy. However, this has not benefited from direct analyses of ancient genomes. Here we report nine ancient genomes (∼ 1 ×) of individuals from northern Britain: seven from a Roman era York cemetery, bookended by earlier Iron-Age and later Anglo-Saxon burials. Six of the Roman genomes show affinity with modern British Celtic populations, particularly Welsh, but significantly diverge from populations from Yorkshire and other eastern English samples. They also show similarity with the earlier Iron-Age genome, suggesting population continuity, but differ from the later Anglo-Saxon genome. This pattern concords with profound impact of migrations in the Anglo-Saxon period. Strikingly, one Roman skeleton shows a clear signal of exogenous origin, with affinities pointing towards the Middle East, confirming the cosmopolitan character of the Empire, even at its northernmost fringes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Martiniano
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Anwen Caffell
- York Osteoarchaeology Ltd, 75 Main Street, Bishop Wilton, York YO42 1SR, UK.,Department of Archaeology, Dawson Building, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Malin Holst
- York Osteoarchaeology Ltd, 75 Main Street, Bishop Wilton, York YO42 1SR, UK.,BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Kurt Hunter-Mann
- York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited, 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX, UK
| | - Janet Montgomery
- Department of Archaeology, Dawson Building, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Gundula Müldner
- Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK
| | - Russell L McLaughlin
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Matthew D Teasdale
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Wouter van Rheenen
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jan H Veldink
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Leonard H van den Berg
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Orla Hardiman
- Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Maureen Carroll
- Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield S1 4ET, UK
| | - Steve Roskams
- BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | - Colleen Morgan
- BioArCh, Biology, S Block, Wentworth Way, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Mark G Thomas
- Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ian Barnes
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Christine McDonnell
- York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited, 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX, UK
| | | | - Daniel G Bradley
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Deguilloux MF, Leahy R, Pemonge MH, Rottier S. European neolithization and ancient DNA: an assessment. Evol Anthropol 2012; 21:24-37. [PMID: 22307722 DOI: 10.1002/evan.20341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Neolithic processes underlying the distribution of genetic diversity among European populations have been the subject of intense debate since the first genetic data became available. However, patterns observed in the current European gene pool are the outcome of Paleolithic and Neolithic processes, overlaid with four millennia of further developments. This observation encouraged paleogeneticists to contribute to the debate by directly comparing genetic variation from the ancient inhabitants of Europe to their contemporary counterparts. Pre-Neolithic and Neolithic paleogenetic data are becoming increasingly available for north and northwest European populations. Despite the numerous problems inherent in the paleogenetic approach, the accumulation of ancient DNA datasets offers new perspectives from which to interpret the interactions between hunter-gatherer and farming communities. In light of information emerging from diverse disciplines, including recent paleogenetic studies, the most plausible model explaining the movement of Neolithic pioneer groups in central Europe is that of leapfrog migration.
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Deguilloux MF, Ricaud S, Leahy R, Pemonge MH. Analysis of ancient human DNA and primer contamination: one step backward one step forward. Forensic Sci Int 2011; 210:102-9. [PMID: 21367547 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2010] [Revised: 12/14/2010] [Accepted: 02/06/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The analysis of DNA from archaeological human remains is plagued by a unique set of methodological problems concerning contamination with modern exogenous DNA. Through an original approach, we propose complementary methods to identify all potential sources of contamination and complete guidelines for the validation of ancient human sequences. The study presented was conducted on non-European human samples (Polynesian and Amerindian) which were collected with all precautions during excavation. This permitted us to distinguish without ambiguity authentic and contaminant sequences. The samples' origins and histories were perfectly known, allowing us to trace all potential contamination sources and to determine the efficiency of precautions followed during all steps of the study. The data obtained confirm that precautions taken during sampling effectively prevent contamination. However, we demonstrate that human contamination can also be introduced during genetic analyses even if all precautions are strictly followed. Indeed, numerous human contaminations were detected in template-PCR products and negative controls, resulting in a striking diversity of contaminant mitochondrial DNA sequences. We argue that this contamination partly derives from the primers. To our knowledge, no previous experiment has been performed to investigate primers as a possible source of human contamination despite the fact that this specific type of contamination poses a real problem in terms of validating ancient human DNA studies. Finally, we confirm that the detection of contaminants in negative controls is clearly related to the number of PCR cycles used. This study enhances our understanding of contamination processes and confirms that, in reality, an absolutely contamination-free situation cannot be obtained. As a consequence, we propose improvements to the guidelines usually followed in the field in order to take the highly probable contamination of PCR reagents, including primers, into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-France Deguilloux
- Université Bordeaux 1, UMR 5199 PACEA, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence Cedex,
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Pope AM, Carr SM, Smith KN, Marshall HD. Mitogenomic and microsatellite variation in descendants of the founder population of Newfoundland: high genetic diversity in an historically isolated population. Genome 2011; 54:110-9. [PMID: 21326367 DOI: 10.1139/g10-102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The island of Newfoundland, the first of England's overseas colonies, was settled from the 17th century onward by restricted numbers of English, Irish, and French immigrants, in small "outport" communities that have maintained geographic, religious, and linguistic isolation to the latest generations. To measure the extent of modification and loss of genetic variation through founder effect, drift, and inbreeding in this historically isolated population, we analyzed the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes and 14 microsatellite loci from each of 27 individuals with matrilineal ancestries extending to the colonial period. Every individual has a unique mtDNA genome sequence. All but one of these genomes are assignable to one of five major (H,J,K,T, and U) or minor (I) European haplogroups. The possibility of homoplasy at single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites that define subtypes within the H haplogroup is discussed. Observed haplogroup proportions do not differ significantly from those of western Europeans or between English and Irish Newfoundlanders. The exceptional individual is a member of haplogroup A2, who appears to be the descendant of a Mi'kmaq First Nations mother and a French father, a common marriage pattern in the early settlement of Newfoundland. Microsatellite diversity is high (HE = 0.763), unstructured with respect to mtDNA haplotype or ethnicity, and there is no evidence of linkage disequilibrium. There is a small but significant degree of inbreeding (FIS = 0.0174). Collection of whole mtDNA genome data was facilitated by the use of microarray sequencing, and we describe a simple algorithm that is 99.67% efficient for sequence recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Pope
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
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Melchior L, Lynnerup N, Siegismund HR, Kivisild T, Dissing J. Genetic diversity among ancient Nordic populations. PLoS One 2010; 5:e11898. [PMID: 20689597 PMCID: PMC2912848 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2010] [Accepted: 07/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Using established criteria for work with fossil DNA we have analysed mitochondrial DNA from 92 individuals from 18 locations in Denmark ranging in time from the Mesolithic to the Medieval Age. Unequivocal assignment of mtDNA haplotypes was possible for 56 of the ancient individuals; however, the success rate varied substantially between sites; the highest rates were obtained with untouched, freshly excavated material, whereas heavy handling, archeological preservation and storage for many years influenced the ability to obtain authentic endogenic DNA. While the nucleotide diversity at two locations was similar to that among extant Danes, the diversity at four sites was considerably higher. This supports previous observations for ancient Britons. The overall occurrence of haplogroups did not deviate from extant Scandinavians, however, haplogroup I was significantly more frequent among the ancient Danes (average 13%) than among extant Danes and Scandinavians (∼2.5%) as well as among other ancient population samples reported. Haplogroup I could therefore have been an ancient Southern Scandinavian type “diluted” by later immigration events. Interestingly, the two Neolithic samples (4,200 YBP, Bell Beaker culture) that were typed were haplogroup U4 and U5a, respectively, and the single Bronze Age sample (3,300–3,500 YBP) was haplogroup U4. These two haplogroups have been associated with the Mesolithic populations of Central and Northern Europe. Therefore, at least for Southern Scandinavia, our findings do not support a possible replacement of a haplogroup U dominated hunter-gatherer population by a more haplogroup diverse Neolithic Culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linea Melchior
- Research Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- * E-mail: (LM); (JD)
| | - Niels Lynnerup
- Anthropological Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hans R. Siegismund
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Toomas Kivisild
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jørgen Dissing
- Research Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- * E-mail: (LM); (JD)
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Xu Z, Zhang F, Xu B, Tan J, Li S, Li C, Zhou H, Zhu H, Zhang J, Duan Q, Jin L. Mitochondrial DNA evidence for a diversified origin of workers building First Emperor of China. PLoS One 2008; 3:e3275. [PMID: 18833341 PMCID: PMC2557057 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2008] [Accepted: 09/04/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Variant studies on ancient DNA have attempted to reveal individual origin. Here, based on cloning sequencing and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms, we analyzed polymorphisms in the first hypervariable region and coding regions of mitochondrial DNA of 19 human bone remains which were excavated from a tomb near the Terra Cotta Warriors and dated some 2,200 years before present. With the aim of shedding light on origins of these samples who were supposed to be workers building the mausoleum for the First Emperor of China, we compared them with 2,164 mtDNA profiles from 32 contemporary Chinese populations at both population and individual levels. Our results showed that mausoleum-building workers may be derived from very diverse sources of origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Xu
- Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fan Zhang
- Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bosong Xu
- Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jingze Tan
- Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shilin Li
- Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chunxiang Li
- Ancient DNA Laboratory, Research Center for Chinese Frontier Archaeology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hui Zhou
- Ancient DNA Laboratory, Research Center for Chinese Frontier Archaeology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hong Zhu
- Ancient DNA Laboratory, Research Center for Chinese Frontier Archaeology, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qingbo Duan
- Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Xian, China
| | - Li Jin
- Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Center for Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences and Max Planck Society (CAS-MPG) Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- * E-mail:
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Melchior L, Kivisild T, Lynnerup N, Dissing J. Evidence of authentic DNA from Danish Viking Age skeletons untouched by humans for 1,000 years. PLoS One 2008; 3:e2214. [PMID: 18509537 PMCID: PMC2386972 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2008] [Accepted: 04/02/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Given the relative abundance of modern human DNA and the inherent impossibility for incontestable proof of authenticity, results obtained on ancient human DNA have often been questioned. The widely accepted rules regarding ancient DNA work mainly affect laboratory procedures, however, pre-laboratory contamination occurring during excavation and archaeological-/anthropological handling of human remains as well as rapid degradation of authentic DNA after excavation are major obstacles. Methodology/Principal Findings We avoided some of these obstacles by analyzing DNA from ten Viking Age subjects that at the time of sampling were untouched by humans for 1,000 years. We removed teeth from the subjects prior to handling by archaeologists and anthropologists using protective equipment. An additional tooth was removed after standard archaeological and anthropological handling. All pre-PCR work was carried out in a “clean- laboratory” dedicated solely to ancient DNA work. Mitochondrial DNA was extracted and overlapping fragments spanning the HVR-1 region as well as diagnostic sites in the coding region were PCR amplified, cloned and sequenced. Consistent results were obtained with the “unhandled” teeth and there was no indication of contamination, while the latter was the case with half of the “handled” teeth. The results allowed the unequivocal assignment of a specific haplotype to each of the subjects, all haplotypes being compatible in their character states with a phylogenetic tree drawn from present day European populations. Several of the haplotypes are either infrequent or have not been observed in modern Scandinavians. The observation of haplogroup I in the present study (<2% in modern Scandinavians) supports our previous findings of a pronounced frequency of this haplogroup in Viking and Iron Age Danes. Conclusion The present work provides further evidence that retrieval of ancient human DNA is a possible task provided adequate precautions are taken and well-considered sampling is applied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linea Melchior
- Research Laboratory, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Toomas Kivisild
- Leverhulme Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, The Henry Wellcome Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Niels Lynnerup
- Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jørgen Dissing
- Research Laboratory, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- * E-mail:
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Melchior L, Gilbert M, Kivisild T, Lynnerup N, Dissing J. Rare mtDNA haplogroups and genetic differences in rich and poor Danish Iron-Age villages. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2008; 135:206-15. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Bowden GR, Balaresque P, King TE, Hansen Z, Lee AC, Pergl-Wilson G, Hurley E, Roberts SJ, Waite P, Jesch J, Jones AL, Thomas MG, Harding SE, Jobling MA. Excavating past population structures by surname-based sampling: the genetic legacy of the Vikings in northwest England. Mol Biol Evol 2007; 25:301-9. [PMID: 18032405 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msm255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic structures of past human populations are obscured by recent migrations and expansions and have been observed only indirectly by inference from modern samples. However, the unique link between a heritable cultural marker, the patrilineal surname, and a genetic marker, the Y chromosome, provides a means to target sets of modern individuals that might resemble populations at the time of surname establishment. As a test case, we studied samples from the Wirral Peninsula and West Lancashire, in northwest England. Place-names and archaeology show clear evidence of a past Viking presence, but heavy immigration and population growth since the industrial revolution are likely to have weakened the genetic signal of a 1,000-year-old Scandinavian contribution. Samples ascertained on the basis of 2 generations of residence were compared with independent samples based on known ancestry in the region plus the possession of a surname known from historical records to have been present there in medieval times. The Y-chromosomal haplotypes of these 2 sets of samples are significantly different, and in admixture analyses, the surname-ascertained samples show markedly greater Scandinavian ancestry proportions, supporting the idea that northwest England was once heavily populated by Scandinavian settlers. The method of historical surname-based ascertainment promises to allow investigation of the influence of migration and drift over the last few centuries in changing the population structure of Britain and will have general utility in other regions where surnames are patrilineal and suitable historical records survive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgina R Bowden
- Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
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Töpf A, Gilbert M, Fleischer R, Hoelzel A. Ancient human mtDNA genotypes from England reveal lost variation over the last millennium. Biol Lett 2007; 3:550-3. [PMID: 17666375 PMCID: PMC2391188 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We analysed the historical genetic diversity of human populations in Europe at the mtDNA control region for 48 ancient Britons who lived between ca AD 300 and 1000, and compared these with 6320 modern mtDNA genotypes from England and across Europe and the Middle East. We found that the historical sample shows greater genetic diversity than for modern England and other modern populations, indicating the loss of diversity over the last millennium. The pattern of haplotypic diversity was clearly European in the ancient sample, representing each of the modern haplogroups. There was also increased representation of one of the ancient haplotypes in modern populations. We consider these results in the context of possible selection or stochastic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- A.L Töpf
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of DurhamDurham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - M.T.P Gilbert
- Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Department of Zoology, University of OxfordOxford OX1 3PS, UK
- Ancient DNA and Evolution, Niels Bohr Institute, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - R.C Fleischer
- NMNH—Genetics Program, Smithsonian InstitutionWashington, DC 20008, USA
| | - A.R Hoelzel
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of DurhamDurham DH1 3LE, UK
- Author for correspondence ()
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Helgason A, Pálsson S, Lalueza-Fox C, Ghosh S, Sigurdardóttir S, Baker A, Hrafnkelsson B, Arnadóttir L, Thorsteinsdóttir U, Stefánsson K. A statistical approach to identify ancient template DNA. J Mol Evol 2007; 65:92-102. [PMID: 17593420 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-006-0259-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2006] [Accepted: 04/03/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
One of the key problems in the study of ancient DNA is that of authenticating sequences obtained from PCR amplifications of highly degraded samples. Contamination of ancient samples and postmortem damage to endogenous DNA templates are the major obstacles facing researchers in this task. In particular, the authentication of sequences obtained from ancient human remains is thought by many to be rather challenging. We propose a novel approach, based on the c statistic, that can be employed to help identify the sequence motif of an endogenous template, based on a sample of sequences that reflect the nucleotide composition of individual template molecules obtained from ancient tissues (such as cloned products from a PCR amplification). The c statistic exploits as information the most common form of postmortem damage observed among clone sequences in ancient DNA studies, namely, lesion-induced substitutions caused by cytosine deamination events. Analyses of simulated sets of templates with miscoding lesions and real sets of clone sequences from the literature indicate that the c-based approach is highly effective in identifying endogenous sequence motifs, even when they are not present among the sampled clones. The proposed approach is likely to be of general use to researchers working with DNA from ancient tissues, particularly from human remains, where authentication of results has been most challenging.
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