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Poquérusse J, Brown CL, Gaillard C, Doughty C, Dalén L, Gallagher AJ, Wooller M, Zimov N, Church GM, Lamm B, Hysolli E. Assessing contemporary Arctic habitat availability for a woolly mammoth proxy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9804. [PMID: 38684726 PMCID: PMC11058768 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60442-7] [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: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Interest continues to grow in Arctic megafaunal ecological engineering, but, since the mass extinction of megafauna ~ 12-15 ka, key physiographic variables and available forage continue to change. Here we sought to assess the extent to which contemporary Arctic ecosystems are conducive to the rewilding of megaherbivores, using a woolly mammoth (M. primigenius) proxy as a model species. We first perform a literature review on woolly mammoth dietary habits. We then leverage Oak Ridge National Laboratories Distributive Active Archive Center Global Aboveground and Belowground Biomass Carbon Density Maps to generate aboveground biomass carbon density estimates in plant functional types consumed by the woolly mammoth at 300 m resolution on Alaska's North Slope. We supplement these analyses with a NASA Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment dataset to downgrade overall biomass estimates to digestible levels. We further downgrade available forage by using a conversion factor representing the relationship between total biomass and net primary productivity (NPP) for arctic vegetation types. Integrating these estimates with the forage needs of woolly mammoths, we conservatively estimate Alaska's North Slope could support densities of 0.0-0.38 woolly mammoth km-2 (mean 0.13) across a variety of habitats. These results may inform innovative rewilding strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Camille Gaillard
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Chris Doughty
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Love Dalén
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Svante Arrhenius Väg 20C, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Matthew Wooller
- College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Nikita Zimov
- North-East Science Station, Pacific Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chersky, Russia
| | - George M Church
- Colossal Biosciences Inc, Austin, TX, 78701, USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ben Lamm
- Colossal Biosciences Inc, Austin, TX, 78701, USA.
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Pittalà MG, Di Francesco A, Cucina A, Saletti R, Zilberstein G, Zilberstein S, Arhire T, Righetti PG, Cunsolo V. Count Dracula Resurrected: Proteomic Analysis of Vlad III the Impaler's Documents by EVA Technology and Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem 2023; 95:12732-12744. [PMID: 37552208 PMCID: PMC10469356 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01461] [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: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
The interest of scientists in analyzing items of World Cultural Heritage has been exponentially increasing since the beginning of the new millennium. These studies have grown considerably in tandem with the development and use of sophisticated and sensitive technologies such as high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) and the non-invasive and non-damaging technique, known under the acronym EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate). Here, we report the results of the MS characterization of the peptides and proteins harvested by the EVA technology applied to three letters written in 1457 and 1475 by the voivode of Wallachia, Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula. The discrimination of the "original" endogenous peptides from contaminant ones was obtained by monitoring their different levels of deamidation and of other diagenetic chemical modifications. The characterization of the ancient proteins extracted from these documents allowed us to explore the environmental conditions, in the second half of the 15th century, of the Wallachia, a region considered as a meeting point for soldiers, migrants, and travelers that probably carried not only trade goods and cultural traditions but also diseases and epidemics. In addition, the identification of many human peptides and proteins harvested from the letters allowed us to uncover more about Vlad Dracula the Impaler. Particularly, the experimental data show that he probably suffered from inflammatory processes of the respiratory tract and/or of the skin. In addition, proteomics data, although not exhaustive, suggest that, according to some stories, he might also have suffered from a pathological condition called hemolacria, that is, he could shed tears admixed with blood. It is worth noting that more medieval people may have touched these documents, which cannot be denied, but it is also presumable that the most prominent ancient proteins should be related to Prince Vlad the Impaler, who wrote and signed these letters. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with the identifier ⟨PXD041350⟩.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria
Gaetana Giovanna Pittalà
- Laboratory
of Organic Mass Spectrometry, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, Catania 95125, Italy
| | - Antonella Di Francesco
- Laboratory
of Organic Mass Spectrometry, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, Catania 95125, Italy
| | - Annamaria Cucina
- Laboratory
of Organic Mass Spectrometry, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, Catania 95125, Italy
| | - Rosaria Saletti
- Laboratory
of Organic Mass Spectrometry, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, Catania 95125, Italy
| | - Gleb Zilberstein
- SpringStyle
Tech Design Ltd, Oppenheimer
7, Rehovot 7670107, Israel
| | | | - Tudor Arhire
- Sibiu
County Department of Romania National Archives, Strada Arhivelor 3, Sibiu 557260, Romania
| | - Pier Giorgio Righetti
- Department
of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering ‘‘Giulio
Natta’’, Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli 7, Milano 20131, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Cunsolo
- Laboratory
of Organic Mass Spectrometry, Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, Catania 95125, Italy
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Meta-proteomic analysis of two mammoth's trunks by EVA technology and high-resolution mass spectrometry for an indirect picture of their habitat and the characterization of the collagen type I, alpha-1 and alpha-2 sequence. Amino Acids 2022; 54:935-954. [PMID: 35434776 PMCID: PMC9213349 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-022-03160-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The recent paleoproteomic studies, including paleo-metaproteomic analyses, improved our understanding of the dietary of ancient populations, the characterization of past human diseases, the reconstruction of the habitat of ancient species, but also provided new insights into the phylogenetic relationships between extant and extinct species. In this respect, the present work reports the results of the metaproteomic analysis performed on the middle part of a trunk, and on the portion of a trunk tip tissue of two different woolly mammoths some 30,000 years old. In particular, proteins were extracted by applying EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate studded with hydrophilic and hydrophobic resins) films to the surface of these tissues belonging to two Mammuthus primigenus specimens, discovered in two regions located in the Russian Far East, and then investigated via a shotgun MS-based approach. This approach allowed to obtain two interesting results: (i) an indirect description of the habitat of these two mammoths, and (ii) an improved characterization of the collagen type I, alpha-1 and alpha-2 chains (col1a1 and col1a2). Sequence characterization of the col1a1 and col1a2 highlighted some differences between M. primigenius and other Proboscidea together with the identification of three (two for col1a1, and one for col1a2) potentially diagnostic amino acidic mutations that could be used to reliably distinguish the Mammuthus primigenius with respect to the other two genera of elephantids (i.e., Elephas and Loxodonta), and the extinct American mastodon (i.e., Mammut americanum). The results were validated through the level of deamidation and other diagenetic chemical modifications of the sample peptides, which were used to discriminate the "original" endogenous peptides from contaminant ones. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier < PXD029558 > .
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Abstract
The goal of paleoproteomics is to characterize proteins from specimens that have been subjected to the degrading and obscuring effects of time, thus obtaining biological information about tissues or organisms both unobservable in the present and unobtainable through morphological study. Although the description of sequences from Tyrannosaurus rex and Brachylophosaurus canadensis suggested that proteins may persist over tens of millions of years, the majority of paleoproteomic analyses have focused on historical, archeological, or relatively young paleontological samples that rarely exceed 1 million years in age. However, recent advances in methodology and analyses of diverse tissues types (e.g., fossil eggshell, dental enamel) have begun closing the large window of time that remains unexplored in the fossil history of the Cenozoic. In this perspective, we discuss the history and current state of deep time paleoproteomics (DTPp), here defined as paleoproteomic study of samples ∼1 million years (1 Ma) or more in age. We then discuss the future of DTPp research, including what we see as critical ways the field can expand, advancements in technology that can be utilized, and the types of questions DTPp can address if such a future is realized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena R Schroeter
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Timothy P Cleland
- Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, Maryland 20746, United States
| | - Mary H Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.,North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina 27605, United States.,Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund SE-221 00, Sweden
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