1
|
Arias L, Emlen NQ, Norder S, Julmi N, Lemus Serrano M, Chacon T, Wiegertjes J, Howard A, Azevedo MCBC, Caine A, Dunn S, Stoneking M, Van Gijn R. Interpreting mismatches between linguistic and genetic patterns among speakers of Tanimuka (Eastern Tukanoan) and Yukuna (Arawakan). Interface Focus 2023; 13:20220056. [PMID: 36655193 PMCID: PMC9732642 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2022.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Northwestern Amazonia is home to a great degree of linguistic diversity, and the human societies in that region are part of complex networks of interaction that predate the arrival of Europeans. This study investigates the population and language contact dynamics between two languages found within this region, Yukuna and Tanimuka, which belong to the Arawakan and Tukanoan language families, respectively. We use evidence from linguistics, ethnohistory, ethnography and population genetics to provide new insights into the contact dynamics between these and other human groups in NWA. Our results show that the interaction between these groups intensified in the last 500 years, to the point that it is difficult to differentiate between them genetically. However, this close interaction has led to more substantial contact-induced language changes in Tanimuka than in Yukuna, consistent with a scenario of language shift and asymmetrical power relations.
Collapse
|
2
|
Liu Y, Bennett EA, Fu Q. Evolving ancient DNA techniques and the future of human history. Cell 2022; 185:2632-2635. [PMID: 35868268 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Ancient DNA (aDNA) techniques applied to human genomics have significantly advanced in the past decade, enabling large-scale aDNA research, sometimes independent of human remains. This commentary reviews the major milestones of aDNA techniques and explores future directions to expand the scope of aDNA research and insights into present-day human health.
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang P, Zhang X, Zhang X, Gao X, Huerta-Sanchez E, Zwyns N. Denisovans and Homo sapiens on the Tibetan Plateau: dispersals and adaptations. Trends Ecol Evol 2022; 37:257-267. [PMID: 34863581 PMCID: PMC9140327 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that both archaic Denisovans and Homo sapiens occupied the Tibetan Plateau earlier than expected. Genetic studies show that a pulse of Denisovan introgression was involved in the adaptation of Tibetan populations to high-altitude hypoxia. These findings challenge the traditional view that the plateau was one of the last places on earth colonized by H. sapiens and warrant a reappraisal of the population history of this highland. Here, we integrate archaeological and genomic evidence relevant to human dispersal, settlement, and adaptation in the region. We propose two testable models to address the peopling of the plateau in the broader context of H. sapiens dispersal and their encounters with Denisovans in Asia.
Collapse
|
4
|
Skourtanioti E, Erdal YS, Frangipane M, Balossi Restelli F, Yener KA, Pinnock F, Matthiae P, Özbal R, Schoop UD, Guliyev F, Akhundov T, Lyonnet B, Hammer EL, Nugent SE, Burri M, Neumann GU, Penske S, Ingman T, Akar M, Shafiq R, Palumbi G, Eisenmann S, D'Andrea M, Rohrlach AB, Warinner C, Jeong C, Stockhammer PW, Haak W, Krause J. Genomic History of Neolithic to Bronze Age Anatolia, Northern Levant, and Southern Caucasus. Cell 2020; 181:1158-1175.e28. [PMID: 32470401 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Here, we report genome-wide data analyses from 110 ancient Near Eastern individuals spanning the Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age, a period characterized by intense interregional interactions for the Near East. We find that 6th millennium BCE populations of North/Central Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus shared mixed ancestry on a genetic cline that formed during the Neolithic between Western Anatolia and regions in today's Southern Caucasus/Zagros. During the Late Chalcolithic and/or the Early Bronze Age, more than half of the Northern Levantine gene pool was replaced, while in the rest of Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus, we document genetic continuity with only transient gene flow. Additionally, we reveal a genetically distinct individual within the Late Bronze Age Northern Levant. Overall, our study uncovers multiple scales of population dynamics through time, from extensive admixture during the Neolithic period to long-distance mobility within the globalized societies of the Late Bronze Age. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
Collapse
|
5
|
Jeong C, Wang K, Wilkin S, Taylor WTT, Miller BK, Bemmann JH, Stahl R, Chiovelli C, Knolle F, Ulziibayar S, Khatanbaatar D, Erdenebaatar D, Erdenebat U, Ochir A, Ankhsanaa G, Vanchigdash C, Ochir B, Munkhbayar C, Tumen D, Kovalev A, Kradin N, Bazarov BA, Miyagashev DA, Konovalov PB, Zhambaltarova E, Miller AV, Haak W, Schiffels S, Krause J, Boivin N, Erdene M, Hendy J, Warinner C. A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe. Cell 2020; 183:890-904.e29. [PMID: 33157037 PMCID: PMC7664836 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region’s population history. Here, we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.
Genome-wide analysis of 214 ancient individuals from Mongolia and the Baikal region Three genetically distinct dairy pastoralist groups in Late Bronze Age Mongolia Xiongnu nomadic empire formed through mixing of distinct local and distant groups No selection on the lactase persistence alleles despite 5,000 years of dairy culture
Collapse
|
6
|
Arciero E, Kraaijenbrink T, Asan, Haber M, Mezzavilla M, Ayub Q, Wang W, Pingcuo Z, Yang H, Wang J, Jobling MA, van Driem G, Xue Y, de Knijff P, Tyler-Smith C. Demographic History and Genetic Adaptation in the Himalayan Region Inferred from Genome-Wide SNP Genotypes of 49 Populations. Mol Biol Evol 2018; 35:1916-1933. [PMID: 29796643 PMCID: PMC6063301 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
We genotyped 738 individuals belonging to 49 populations from Nepal, Bhutan, North India, or Tibet at over 500,000 SNPs, and analyzed the genotypes in the context of available worldwide population data in order to investigate the demographic history of the region and the genetic adaptations to the harsh environment. The Himalayan populations resembled other South and East Asians, but in addition displayed their own specific ancestral component and showed strong population structure and genetic drift. We also found evidence for multiple admixture events involving Himalayan populations and South/East Asians between 200 and 2,000 years ago. In comparisons with available ancient genomes, the Himalayans, like other East and South Asian populations, showed similar genetic affinity to Eurasian hunter-gatherers (a 24,000-year-old Upper Palaeolithic Siberian), and the related Bronze Age Yamnaya. The high-altitude Himalayan populations all shared a specific ancestral component, suggesting that genetic adaptation to life at high altitude originated only once in this region and subsequently spread. Combining four approaches to identifying specific positively selected loci, we confirmed that the strongest signals of high-altitude adaptation were located near the Endothelial PAS domain-containing protein 1 and Egl-9 Family Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 loci, and discovered eight additional robust signals of high-altitude adaptation, five of which have strong biological functional links to such adaptation. In conclusion, the demographic history of Himalayan populations is complex, with strong local differentiation, reflecting both genetic and cultural factors; these populations also display evidence of multiple genetic adaptations to high-altitude environments.
Collapse
|
7
|
Haber M, Mezzavilla M, Bergström A, Prado-Martinez J, Hallast P, Saif-Ali R, Al-Habori M, Dedoussis G, Zeggini E, Blue-Smith J, Wells R, Xue Y, Zalloua P, Tyler-Smith C. Chad Genetic Diversity Reveals an African History Marked by Multiple Holocene Eurasian Migrations. Am J Hum Genet 2016; 99:1316-1324. [PMID: 27889059 PMCID: PMC5142112 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding human genetic diversity in Africa is important for interpreting the evolution of all humans, yet vast regions in Africa, such as Chad, remain genetically poorly investigated. Here, we use genotype data from 480 samples from Chad, the Near East, and southern Europe, as well as whole-genome sequencing from 19 of them, to show that many populations today derive their genomes from ancient African-Eurasian admixtures. We found evidence of early Eurasian backflow to Africa in people speaking the unclassified isolate Laal language in southern Chad and estimate from linkage-disequilibrium decay that this occurred 4,750–7,200 years ago. It brought to Africa a Y chromosome lineage (R1b-V88) whose closest relatives are widespread in present-day Eurasia; we estimate from sequence data that the Chad R1b-V88 Y chromosomes coalesced 5,700–7,300 years ago. This migration could thus have originated among Near Eastern farmers during the African Humid Period. We also found that the previously documented Eurasian backflow into Africa, which occurred ∼3,000 years ago and was thought to be mostly limited to East Africa, had a more westward impact affecting populations in northern Chad, such as the Toubou, who have 20%–30% Eurasian ancestry today. We observed a decline in heterozygosity in admixed Africans and found that the Eurasian admixture can bias inferences on their coalescent history and confound genetic signals from adaptation and archaic introgression.
Collapse
|
8
|
Abstract
Our understanding of human evolutionary and population history can be advanced by ecological and evolutionary studies of our parasites. Many parasites flourish only in the presence of very specific human behaviors and in specific habitats, are wholly dependent on us, and have evolved with us for thousands or millions of years. Therefore, by asking when and how we first acquired those parasites, under which environmental and cultural conditions we are the most susceptible, and how the parasites have evolved and adapted to us and we in response to them, we can gain considerable insight into our own evolutionary history. As examples, the tapeworm life cycle is dependent on our consumption of meat, the divergence of body and head lice may have been subsequent to the development of clothing, and malaria hyperendemicity may be associated with agriculture. Thus, the evolutionary and population histories of these parasites are likely intertwined with critical aspects of human biology and culture. Here I review the mechanics of these and multiple other parasite proxies for human evolutionary history and discuss how they currently complement our fossil, archeological, molecular, linguistic, historical, and ethnographic records. I also highlight potential future applications of this promising model for the field of evolutionary anthropology.
Collapse
|
9
|
Kim HL, Schuster SC. Poor Man's 1000 Genome Project: Recent Human Population Expansion Confounds the Detection of Disease Alleles in 7,098 Complete Mitochondrial Genomes. Front Genet 2013; 4:13. [PMID: 23450075 PMCID: PMC3584485 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2013.00013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapid growth of the human population has caused the accumulation of rare genetic variants that may play a role in the origin of genetic diseases. However, it is challenging to identify those rare variants responsible for specific diseases without genetic data from an extraordinarily large population sample. Here we focused on the accumulated data from the human mitochondrial (mt) genome sequences because this data provided 7,098 whole genomes for analysis. In this dataset we identified 6,110 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and their frequency and determined that the best-fit demographic model for the 7,098 genomes included severe population bottlenecks and exponential expansions of the non-African population. Using this model, we simulated the evolution of mt genomes in order to ascertain the behavior of deleterious mutations. We found that such deleterious mutations barely survived during population expansion. We derived the threshold frequency of a deleterious mutation in separate African, Asian, and European populations and used it to identify pathogenic mutations in our dataset. Although threshold frequency was very low, the proportion of variants showing a lower frequency than that threshold was 82, 83, and 91% of the total variants for the African, Asian, and European populations, respectively. Within these variants, only 18 known pathogenic mutations were detected in the 7,098 genomes. This result showed the difficulty of detecting a pathogenic mutation within an abundance of rare variants in the human population, even with a large number of genomes available for study.
Collapse
|