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Vincenti G, Molinaro L, Sajjadi SMS, Moradi H, Pagani L, Fabbri PF. Female biased adult sex ratio in the Bronze Age cemetery of Shahr-i Sokhta (Iran) as an indicator of long distance trade and matrilocality. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24911. [PMID: 38348756 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This paper starts from the unusual observation of the overrepresentation of females among adults in the cemetery of Bronze Age Shahr-i Sokhta (Seistan, Iran) and explores the post marital residence pattern. By integrating taphonomical (skeletal preservation), anthropological (sex ratio [SR], sexual dimorphism, stress indicators, age at death), archeological (long distance trade indicators, habitation floor area, social role of women), and ancient DNA (heterozygosity levels in X chromosomes) data we test the hypothesis of post marital matrilocality in the site. METHODS We computed the SR (pelvis-based sex determination) in a random unpublished adult sample from the cemetery of Shahr-i Sokhta and in two samples previously published by other authors. We used comparative data on SR from: a large Supra Regional multi-chronological sample of sites, n = 47, with 8808 adult sexed individuals, from Southern Europe, Egypt, Middle East, Southern Russia; a Regional Bronze Age sample of sites (n = 10) from Bactria Margiana and Indus Valley with 1324 adult sexed individuals. We estimated the heterozygosity levels in X chromosomes compared with the rest of the autosomes on the assumption that in a matrilocal society females should show lower variability than men. RESULTS Adult SR in a sample (n = 549) from Shahr-i Sokhta is 70.5, the overrepresentation of females is shared with Regional Bronze Age sites from Bactria Margiana (SR = 72.09) and Indus Valley (SR = 67.54). On the contrary, in a larger Supra Regional multi-chronological sample of sites, mean SR ranges between 112.7 (Bronze Age) and 163.1 (Middle Ages). Taphonomical and anthropological indicators do not explain the overrepresentation of female skeletons. Archeological indicators suggest a high social status of women and that the society was devoted to long range trade activities. heterozygosity levels in X chromosomes are in agreement with a matrilocal society. CONCLUSIONS Indicators suggest that Bronze Age Shahr-ì Sokhta was a matrilocal society and that long distance trade was an important economic factor producing an overrepresentation of adult female skeletons in the cemetery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Vincenti
- MAIPS, Multidisciplinary Archaeological Italian Project at Shahr-i Sokhta - Dipartimento Beni Culturali, Laboratorio di Antropologia Fisica, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | - Ludovica Molinaro
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | | | - Luca Pagani
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Pier Francesco Fabbri
- MAIPS, Multidisciplinary Archaeological Italian Project at Shahr-i Sokhta, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy
- Museo Fiorentino di Preistoria, Firenze, Italy
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Protti G, Rubbi L, Gören T, Sabirli R, Civlan S, Kurt Ö, Türkçüer İ, Köseler A, Pellegrini M. The methylome of buccal epithelial cells is influenced by age, sex, and physiological properties. Physiol Genomics 2023; 55:618-633. [PMID: 37781740 DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00063.2023] [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: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications, particularly DNA methylation, have emerged as regulators of gene expression and are implicated in various biological processes and disease states. Understanding the factors influencing the epigenome is essential for unraveling its complexity. In this study, we aimed to identify how the methylome of buccal epithelial cells, a noninvasive and easily accessible tissue, is associated with demographic and health-related variables commonly used in clinical settings, such as age, sex, blood immune composition, hemoglobin levels, and others. We developed a model to assess the association of multiple factors with the human methylome and identify the genomic loci significantly impacted by each trait. We demonstrated that DNA methylation variation is accurately modeled by several factors. We confirmed the well-known impact of age and sex and unveiled novel clinical factors associated with DNA methylation, such as blood neutrophils, hemoglobin, red blood cell distribution width, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and urea. Genomic regions significantly associated with these traits were enriched in relevant transcription factors, drugs, and diseases. Among our findings, we showed that neutrophil-impacted loci were involved in neutrophil functionality and maturation. Similarly, hemoglobin-influenced sites were associated with several diseases, including aplastic anemia, and the genomic loci affected by urea were related to congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the human methylome plasticity and provide insights into novel factors shaping DNA methylation patterns, highlighting their potential clinical implications as biomarkers and the importance of considering these physiological traits in future medical epigenomic investigations.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We have developed a quantitative model to assess how the human methylome is associated with several factors and to identify the genomic loci significantly impacted by each trait. We reported novel health-related factors driving DNA methylation patterns and new site-specific regulations that further elucidate methylome dynamics. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the plasticity of the human methylome and unveils novel physiological traits with a potential role in future medical epigenomic investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Protti
- Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Liudmilla Rubbi
- Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States
| | - Tarik Gören
- Emergency Department, Pamukkale University Medical Faculty, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Ramazan Sabirli
- Emergency Department, Bakircay University Faculty of Medicine Cigli Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Serkan Civlan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Özgür Kurt
- Department of Microbiology, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - İbrahim Türkçüer
- Emergency Department, Pamukkale University Medical Faculty, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Aylin Köseler
- Department of Biophysics, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
| | - Matteo Pellegrini
- Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States
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Challenges in selecting admixture models and marker sets to infer genetic ancestry in a Brazilian admixed population. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21240. [PMID: 36481695 PMCID: PMC9731996 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25521-7] [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] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The inference of genetic ancestry plays an increasingly prominent role in clinical, population, and forensic genetics studies. Several genotyping strategies and analytical methodologies have been developed over the last few decades to assign individuals to specific biogeographic regions. However, despite these efforts, ancestry inference in populations with a recent history of admixture, such as those in Brazil, remains a challenge. In admixed populations, proportion and components of genetic ancestry vary on different levels: (i) between populations; (ii) between individuals of the same population, and (iii) throughout the individual's genome. The present study evaluated 1171 admixed Brazilian samples to compare the genetic ancestry inferred by tri-/tetra-hybrid admixture models and evaluated different marker sets from those with small numbers of ancestry informative markers panels (AIMs), to high-density SNPs (HDSNP) and whole-genome-sequence (WGS) data. Analyses revealed greater variation in the correlation coefficient of ancestry components within and between admixed populations, especially for minority ancestral components. We also observed positive correlation between the number of markers in the AIMs panel and HDSNP/WGS. Furthermore, the greater the number of markers, the more accurate the tri-/tetra-hybrid admixture models.
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Collen EJ, Johar AS, Teixeira JC, Llamas B. The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas. Front Genet 2022; 13:918227. [PMID: 35991555 PMCID: PMC9388791 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.918227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The introduction of pathogens originating from Eurasia into the Americas during early European contact has been associated with high mortality rates among Indigenous peoples, likely contributing to their historical and precipitous population decline. However, the biological impacts of imported infectious diseases and resulting epidemics, especially in terms of pathogenic effects on the Indigenous immunity, remain poorly understood and highly contentious to this day. Here, we examine multidisciplinary evidence underpinning colonization-related immune genetic change, providing contextualization from anthropological studies, paleomicrobiological evidence of contrasting host-pathogen coevolutionary histories, and the timings of disease emergence. We further summarize current studies examining genetic signals reflecting post-contact Indigenous population bottlenecks, admixture with European and other populations, and the putative effects of natural selection, with a focus on ancient DNA studies and immunity-related findings. Considering current genetic evidence, together with a population genetics theoretical approach, we show that post-contact Indigenous immune adaptation, possibly influenced by selection exerted by introduced pathogens, is highly complex and likely to be affected by multifactorial causes. Disentangling putative adaptive signals from those of genetic drift thus remains a significant challenge, highlighting the need for the implementation of population genetic approaches that model the short time spans and complex demographic histories under consideration. This review adds to current understandings of post-contact immunity evolution in Indigenous peoples of America, with important implications for bettering our understanding of human adaptation in the face of emerging infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn Jane Collen
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- *Correspondence: Evelyn Jane Collen, ; Bastien Llamas,
| | - Angad Singh Johar
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - João C. Teixeira
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- School of Culture History and Language, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Bastien Llamas
- Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- National Centre for Indigenous Genomics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Telethon Kids Institute, Indigenous Genomics Research Group, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- *Correspondence: Evelyn Jane Collen, ; Bastien Llamas,
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Villanea FA, Witt KE. Underrepresented Populations at the Archaic Introgression Frontier. Front Genet 2022; 13:821170. [PMID: 35281795 PMCID: PMC8914065 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.821170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fernando A Villanea
- Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
- *Correspondence: Fernando A Villanea,
| | - Kelsey E. Witt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
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