• myGriffith
    • Staff portal
    • Contact Us⌄
      • Future student enquiries 1800 677 728
      • Current student enquiries 1800 154 055
      • International enquiries +61 7 3735 6425
      • General enquiries 07 3735 7111
      • Online enquiries
      • Staff phonebook
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Griffith Research Online
    • Journal articles
    • View Item
    • Home
    • Griffith Research Online
    • Journal articles
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

  • All of Griffith Research Online
    • Communities & Collections
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • This Collection
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • Statistics

  • Most Popular Items
  • Statistics by Country
  • Most Popular Authors
  • Support

  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Admin login

  • Login
  • Upper palaeolithic Siberian genome reveals dual ancestry of native Americans

    Author(s)
    Raghavan, Maanasa
    Skoglund, Pontus
    Graf, Kelly E.
    Metspalu, Mait
    Albrechtsen, Anders
    Moltke, Ida
    Rasmussen, Simon
    Stafford Jr, Thomas W.
    Orlando, Ludovic
    Metspalu, Ene
    Karmin, Monika
    Tambets, Kristiina
    Rootsi, Siiri
    Magi, Reedik
    Campos, Paula F.
    Balanovska, Elena
    Balanovsky, Oleg
    Khusnutdinova, Elza
    Litvinov, Sergei
    Osipova, Ludmila P.
    Fedorova, Sardana A.
    Voevoda, Mikhail I.
    DeGiorgio, Michael
    Sicheritz-Ponten, Thomas
    Brunak, Soren
    Demeshchenko, Svetlana
    Kivisild, Toomas
    Villems, Richard
    Willerslev, Eske
    et al.
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Willerslev, Eske
    Year published
    2014
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    The origins of the First Americans remain contentious. Although Native Americans seem to be genetically most closely related to east Asians1,2,3, there is no consensus with regard to which specific Old World populations they are closest to4,5,6,7,8. Here we sequence the draft genome of an approximately 24,000-year-old individual (MA-1), from Mal’ta in south-central Siberia9, 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 ...
    View more >
    The origins of the First Americans remain contentious. Although Native Americans seem to be genetically most closely related to east Asians1,2,3, there is no consensus with regard to which specific Old World populations they are closest to4,5,6,7,8. Here we sequence the draft genome of an approximately 24,000-year-old individual (MA-1), from Mal’ta in south-central Siberia9, 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-gatherers10,11,12, and the Y chromosome of MA-1 is basal to modern-day western Eurasians and near the root of most Native American lineages5. 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 Asians2,13. Sequencing of another south-central Siberian, Afontova Gora-2 dating to approximately 17,000 years ago14, 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.
    View less >
    Journal Title
    Nature
    Volume
    505
    Issue
    7481
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12736
    Subject
    Population, Ecological and Evolutionary Genetics
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/172211
    Collection
    • Journal articles

    Footer

    Disclaimer

    • Privacy policy
    • Copyright matters
    • CRICOS Provider - 00233E
    • TEQSA: PRV12076

    Tagline

    • Gold Coast
    • Logan
    • Brisbane - Queensland, Australia
    First Peoples of Australia
    • Aboriginal
    • Torres Strait Islander