Web address:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/
101109172344.htm
DNA Reveals Origins of First European Farmers
enlarge
Genetic matrilineal distances between 55 modern Western Eurasian populations
and Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) samples. Mapped genetic distances
are illustrated between 55 modern Western Eurasian populations and the total of
42 Neolithic LBK samples (A) or the single graveyard of Derenburg (B). Black
dots denote the location of modern-day populations used in the analysis. The
coloring indicates the degree of similarity of the modern local population(s)
with the Neolithic sample set: short distances (greatest similarity) are marked
by dark green and long distances (greatest dissimilarity) by orange, with
fainter colors in between the extremes. (Credit: Haak W, Balanovsky O, Sanchez
JJ, Koshel S, Zaporozhchenko V, et al. Ancient DNA from European Early
Neolithic Farmers Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities. PLoS Biology, 2010;
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000536)
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2010) A team of international researchers led by
ancient DNA experts from the University of Adelaide has resolved the
longstanding issue of the origins of the people who introduced farming to
Europe some 8000 years ago.
A detailed genetic study of one of the first farming communities in Europe,
from central Germany, reveals marked similarities with populations living in
the Ancient Near East (modern-day Turkey, Iraq and other countries) rather than
those from Europe.
Project leader Professor Alan Cooper, Director of the Australian Centre for
Ancient DNA (ACAD) at the University of Adelaide, says: "This overturns current
thinking, which accepts that the first European farming populations were
constructed largely from existing populations of hunter-gatherers, who had
either rapidly learned to farm or interbred with the invaders."
The results of the study have been published today in the online peer-reviewed
science journal PLoS Biology.
"We have finally resolved the question of who the first farmers in Europe were
-- invaders with revolutionary new ideas, rather than populations of Stone Age
hunter-gatherers who already existed in the area," says lead author Dr Wolfgang
Haak, Senior Research Associate with ACAD at the University of Adelaide.
"We've been able to apply new, high-precision ancient DNA methods to create a
detailed genetic picture of this ancient farming population, and reveal that it
was radically different to the nomadic populations already present in Europe.
"We have also been able to use genetic signatures to identify a potential route
from the Near East and Anatolia, where farming evolved around 11,000 years ago,
via south-eastern Europe and the Carpathian Basin (today's Hungary) into
Central Europe," Dr Haak says.
The project involved researchers from the University of Mainz and State
Heritage Museum in Halle, Germany, the Russian Academy of Sciences and members
of the National Geographic Society's Genographic Project, of which Professor
Cooper is a Principal Investigator and Dr Haak is a Senior Research Associate.
The ancient DNA used in this study comes from a complete graveyard of Early
Neolithic farmers unearthed at the town of Derenburg in Saxony-Anhalt, central
Germany.
"This work was only possible due to the close collaboration of archaeologists
excavating the skeletons, to ensure that no modern human DNA contaminated the
remains, and nicely illustrates the potential when archaeology and genetics are
combined," says Professor Kurt Werner Alt from the collaborating Institute of
Anthropology in Mainz, Germany.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily
staff) from materials provided by University of Adelaide.
Journal Reference:
1. Wolfgang Haak, Oleg Balanovsky, Juan J Sanchez, Sergey Koshel, Valery
Zaporozhchenko, Christina J Adler, Clio S I Der Sarkissian, Guido Brandt,
Carolin Schwarz, Nicole Nicklisch, Veit Dresely, Barbara Fritsch, Elena
Balanovska, Richard Villems, Harald Meller, Kurt W Alt, Alan Cooper, the
Genographic Consortium. Ancient DNA from European Early Neolithic Farmers
Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities. PLoS Biology, 2010; DOI:
10.1371/journal.pbio.1000536
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the
following formats:
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University of Adelaide (2010, November 9). DNA reveals origins of first
European farmers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/11/101109172344.htm
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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