| 1. |
- Margaryan, Ashot, et al.
(författare)
-
Population genomics of the Viking world
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 585:7825, s. 390-396
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The maritime expansion of Scandinavian populations during the Viking Age (about ad 750–1050) was a far-flung transformation in world history1,2. Here we sequenced the genomes of 442 humans from archaeological sites across Europe and Greenland (to a median depth of about 1×) to understand the global influence of this expansion. We find the Viking period involved gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east. We observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, with diversity hotspots in the south and restricted gene flow within Scandinavia. We find evidence for a major influx of Danish ancestry into England; a Swedish influx into the Baltic; and Norwegian influx into Ireland, Iceland and Greenland. Additionally, we see substantial ancestry from elsewhere in Europe entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Our ancient DNA analysis also revealed that a Viking expedition included close family members. By comparing with modern populations, we find that pigmentation-associated loci have undergone strong population differentiation during the past millennium, and trace positively selected loci—including the lactase-persistence allele of LCT and alleles of ANKA that are associated with the immune response—in detail. We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial transregional engagement: distinct populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe, and Scandinavia experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent.
|
|
| 2. |
- Mühlemann, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
-
Diverse variola virus (smallpox) strains were widespread in northern Europe in the Viking Age
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Science (New York, N.Y.). - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 369:6502
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Smallpox, one of the most devastating human diseases, killed between 300 million and 500 million people in the 20th century alone. We recovered viral sequences from 13 northern European individuals, including 11 dated to ~600-1050 CE, overlapping the Viking Age, and reconstructed near-complete variola virus genomes for four of them. The samples predate the earliest confirmed smallpox cases by ~1000 years, and the sequences reveal a now-extinct sister clade of the modern variola viruses that were in circulation before the eradication of smallpox. We date the most recent common ancestor of variola virus to ~1700 years ago. Distinct patterns of gene inactivation in the four near-complete sequences show that different evolutionary paths of genotypic host adaptation resulted in variola viruses that circulated widely among humans.
|
|
| 3. |
- Redsted Rasmussen, Arne, et al.
(författare)
-
Viviparous sea snakes can be used as bioindicators for diverse marine environments
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology. - 1908-6865 .- 2508-0342. ; 14:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Shallow tropical marine ecosystems are under great anthropogenic pressure due to habitat destruction, overfishing,shrimping, climate change, and tourism. This is an issue of global concern as such environments hold a tremendousbiodiversity much of which remains to be described. The present situation urgently calls for time- and resource-efficientmethods to identify and delineate the most valuable remaining areas and to set up priorities for their management andconservation. Using indicator species can be a way to accomplish this goal. In this paper we evaluate whether viviparoussea snakes can serve as bioindicators for other rare or cryptic tropical marine fauna. Based on seven generallyacknowledged criteria for bioindicators, we argue that using viviparous sea snakes as bioindicators can help monitoringmarine habitats to gauge the effects of climate change, habitat change and loss, decline in biodiversity and otheranthropogenic changes. However, to maximize their efficacy as bioindicators, deeper knowledge about viviparous seasnakes natural history is urgently needed. Topics for expanded research programs include the taxonomy of some groups,their breeding and feeding biology, habitat selection and their geographical distribution. Despite these gaps in ourunderstanding, we argue that viviparous sea snakes can be utilized as bioindicators of marine ecosystem health.
|
|
| 4. |
- Redsted Rasmussen, Arne, et al.
(författare)
-
Viviparous sea snakes can be used as bioindicators for diverse marine environments
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology. - : Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines. - 1908-6865 .- 2508-0342. ; 14:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Shallow tropical marine ecosystems are under great anthropogenic pressure due to habitat destruction, overfishing,shrimping, climate change, and tourism. This is an issue of global concern as such environments hold a tremendousbiodiversity much of which remains to be described. The present situation urgently calls for time- and resource-efficientmethods to identify and delineate the most valuable remaining areas and to set up priorities for their management andconservation. Using indicator species can be a way to accomplish this goal. In this paper we evaluate whether viviparoussea snakes can serve as bioindicators for other rare or cryptic tropical marine fauna. Based on seven generallyacknowledged criteria for bioindicators, we argue that using viviparous sea snakes as bioindicators can help monitoringmarine habitats to gauge the effects of climate change, habitat change and loss, decline in biodiversity and otheranthropogenic changes. However, to maximize their efficacy as bioindicators, deeper knowledge about viviparous seasnakes natural history is urgently needed. Topics for expanded research programs include the taxonomy of some groups,their breeding and feeding biology, habitat selection and their geographical distribution. Despite these gaps in ourunderstanding, we argue that viviparous sea snakes can be utilized as bioindicators of marine ecosystem health.
|
|
| 5. |
- Sjögren, Karl-Göran, 1949, et al.
(författare)
-
Kinship and social organization in Copper Age Europe. A cross-disciplinary analysis of archaeology, DNA, isotopes, and anthropology from two Bell Beaker cemeteries.
- 2020
-
Ingår i: PloS one. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:11
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a high-resolution cross-disciplinary analysis of kinship structure and social institutions in two Late Copper Age Bell Beaker culture cemeteries of South Germany containing 24 and 18 burials, of which 34 provided genetic information. By combining archaeological, anthropological, genetic and isotopic evidence we are able to document the internal kinship and residency structure of the cemeteries and the socially organizing principles of these local communities. The buried individuals represent four to six generations of two family groups, one nuclear family at the Alburg cemetery, and one seemingly more extended at Irlbach. While likely monogamous, they practiced exogamy, as six out of eight non-locals are women. Maternal genetic diversity is high with 23 different mitochondrial haplotypes from 34 individuals, whereas all males belong to one single Y-chromosome haplogroup without any detectable contribution from Y-chromosomes typical of the farmers who had been the sole inhabitants of the region hundreds of years before. This provides evidence for the society being patrilocal, perhaps as a way of protecting property among the male line, while in-marriage from many different places secured social and political networks and prevented inbreeding. We also find evidence that the communities practiced selection for which of their children (aged 0-14 years) received a proper burial, as buried juveniles were in all but one case boys, suggesting the priority of young males in the cemeteries. This is plausibly linked to the exchange of foster children as part of an expansionist kinship system which is well attested from later Indo-European-speaking cultural groups.
|
|
