Journal article
Ancient mtDNA sequences from the First Australians revisited
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol.113(25), pp.6892-6897
2016
Abstract
The publication in 2001 by Adcock et al. [Adcock GJ, et al. (2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98(2):537-542] in PNAS reported the recovery of short mtDNA sequences from ancient Australians, including the 42,000-y-old Mungo Man [Willandra Lakes Hominid (WLH3)]. This landmark study in human ancient DNA suggested that an early modern human mitochondrial lineage emerged in Asia and that the theory of modern human origins could no longer be considered solely through the lens of the "Out of Africa" model. To evaluate these claims, we used second generation DNA sequencing and capture methods as well as PCR-based and single-primer extension (SPEX) approaches to reexamine the same four Willandra Lakes and Kow Swamp 8 (KS8) remains studied in the work by Adcock et al. Two of the remains sampled contained no identifiable human DNA (WLH15 and WLH55), whereas the Mungo Man (WLH3) sample contained no Aboriginal Australian DNA. KS8 reveals human mitochondrial sequences that differ from the previously inferred sequence. Instead, we recover a total of five modern European contaminants from Mungo Man (WLH3). We show that the remaining sample (WLH4) contains ∼1.4% human DNA, from which we assembled two complete mitochondrial genomes. One of these was a previously unidentified Aboriginal Australian haplotype belonging to haplogroup S2 that we sequenced to a high coverage. The other was a contaminating modern European mitochondrial haplotype. Although none of the sequences that we recovered matched those reported by Adcock et al., except a contaminant, these findings show the feasibility of obtaining important information from ancient Aboriginal Australian remains. © 2016, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Details
- Title
- Ancient mtDNA sequences from the First Australians revisited
- Authors
- T H Heupink (Author) - Griffith UniversitySankar Subramanian (Author) - Griffith UniversityJ L Wright (Author) - Griffith UniversityP Endicott (Author) - Oxford University, United KingdomM C Westaway (Author) - Griffith UniversityL Huynen (Author) - Griffith UniversityW Parson (Author) - Pennsylvania State University, United StatesC D Millar (Author) - University of Auckland, New ZealandE Willerslev (Author) - University of Copenhagen, DenmarkD M Lambert (Author) - Griffith University
- Publication details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol.113(25), pp.6892-6897
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Date published
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.1073/pnas.1521066113
- ISSN
- 0027-8424
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450321102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
481 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Genetics & Heredity
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites