Dataset Information

Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

ABSTRACT: We extend the scope of European palaeogenomics by sequencing the genomes of Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,300 years old, 1.4-fold coverage) and Mesolithic (9,700 years old, 15.4-fold) males from western Georgia in the Caucasus and a Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,700 years old, 9.5-fold) male from Switzerland. While we detect Late Palaeolithic-Mesolithic genomic continuity in both regions, we find that Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHG) belong to a distinct ancient clade that split from western hunter-gatherers ?45?kya, shortly after the expansion of anatomically modern humans into Europe and from the ancestors of Neolithic farmers ?25?kya, around the Last Glacial Maximum. CHG genomes significantly contributed to the Yamnaya steppe herders who migrated into Europe ?3,000 BC, supporting a formative Caucasus influence on this important Early Bronze age culture. CHG left their imprint on modern populations from the Caucasus and also central and south Asia possibly marking the arrival of Indo-Aryan languages.

SUBMITTER: Jones ER

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4660371 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

Jones Eppie R ER Gonzalez-Fortes Gloria G Connell Sarah S Siska Veronika V Eriksson Anders A Martiniano Rui R McLaughlin Russell L RL Gallego Llorente Marcos M Cassidy Lara M LM Gamba Cristina C Meshveliani Tengiz T Bar-Yosef Ofer O Müller Werner W Belfer-Cohen Anna A Matskevich Zinovi Z Jakeli Nino N Higham Thomas F G TFG Currat Mathias M Lordkipanidze David D Hofreiter Michael M Manica Andrea A Pinhasi Ron R Bradley Daniel G DG

Nature communications 20151116

We extend the scope of European palaeogenomics by sequencing the genomes of Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,300 years old, 1.4-fold coverage) and Mesolithic (9,700 years old, 15.4-fold) males from western Georgia in the Caucasus and a Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,700 years old, 9.5-fold) male from Switzerland. While we detect Late Palaeolithic-Mesolithic genomic continuity in both regions, we find that Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHG) belong to a distinct ancient clade that split from western hunter-g ...[more]

PMID: 26567969

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Project description:The origins of the First Americans remain contentious. Although Native Americans seem to be genetically most closely related to east Asians, there is no consensus with regard to which specific Old World populations they are closest to. Here we sequence the draft genome of an approximately 24,000-year-old individual (MA-1), from Mal'ta in south-central Siberia, to an average depth of 1×. To our knowledge this is the oldest anatomically modern human genome reported to date. The MA-1 mitochondrial genome belongs to haplogroup U, which has also been found at high frequency among Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers, and the Y chromosome of MA-1 is basal to modern-day western Eurasians and near the root of most Native American lineages. Similarly, we find autosomal evidence that MA-1 is basal to modern-day western Eurasians and genetically closely related to modern-day Native Americans, with no close affinity to east Asians. This suggests that populations related to contemporary western Eurasians had a more north-easterly distribution 24,000 years ago than commonly thought. Furthermore, we estimate that 14 to 38% of Native American ancestry may originate through gene flow from this ancient population. This is likely to have occurred after the divergence of Native American ancestors from east Asian ancestors, but before the diversification of Native American populations in the New World. Gene flow from the MA-1 lineage into Native American ancestors could explain why several crania from the First Americans have been reported as bearing morphological characteristics that do not resemble those of east Asians. Sequencing of another south-central Siberian, Afontova Gora-2 dating to approximately 17,000 years ago, revealed similar autosomal genetic signatures as MA-1, suggesting that the region was continuously occupied by humans throughout the Last Glacial Maximum. Our findings reveal that western Eurasian genetic signatures in modern-day Native Americans derive not only from post-Columbian admixture, as commonly thought, but also from a mixed ancestry of the First Americans.

Dataset Information

Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

Publications

Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

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