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Eske Willerslev

Publications and source records attributed to Eske Willerslev.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Ancient DNA: would the real Neandertal please stand up?

Mitochondrial DNA sequences recovered from eight Neandertal specimens cannot be detected in either early fossil Europeans or in modern populations. This indicates that, if Neandertals made any genetic contribution at all to modern humans, it must have been limited, though the extent of the contribution cannot be resolved at present.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Isolation of nucleic acids and cultures from fossil ice and permafrost.

Owing to their constant low temperatures, glacial ice and permafrost might contain the oldest nucleic acids and microbial cells on Earth, which could prove key to reconstructing past ecosystems and for the planning of missions to other planets. However, recent claims concerning viable cells and microbial nucleic acids obtained from ice- and permafrost cores from hundreds of thousands to millions of years old are not properly authenticated and the findings could be the result of contamination. Here, we discuss the processes that restrict the long-term survival of DNA and/or RNA molecules in ice and permafrost, and highlight sources of contamination that could result in false claims. Additionally, we present a set of precautions, controls and criteria to help ensure that future cultures and sequences are authentic.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism in the extinct New Zealand moa Dinornis.

The ratite moa (Aves; Dinornithiformes) were massive graviportal browsers weighing up to 250 kg (ref. 1) that dominated the New Zealand biota until their extinction approximately 500 yr ago. Despite an extensive Quaternary fossil record, moa taxonomy remains problematic and currently 11 species are recognized. Three Dinornis species were found throughout New Zealand and differed markedly in size (1-2 m height at back) and mass (from approximately 34 to 242 kg). Surprisingly, ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences show that the three species were genetically indistinguishable within each island, but formed separate North and South Island clades. Here we show, using the first sex-linked nuclear sequences from an extinct species, that on each island the three morphological forms actually represent just one species, whose size varied markedly according to sex and habitat. The largest females in this example of extreme reversed sexual size dimorphism were about 280% the weight and 150% the height of the largest males, which is unprecedented among birds and terrestrial mammals. The combination of molecular and palaeontological data highlights the difficulties of analysing extinct groups, even those with detailed fossil records.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Diverse plant and animal genetic records from Holocene and Pleistocene sediments.

Genetic analyses of permafrost and temperate sediments reveal that plant and animal DNA may be preserved for long periods, even in the absence of obvious macrofossils. In Siberia, five permafrost cores ranging from 400,000 to 10,000 years old contained at least 19 different plant taxa, including the oldest authenticated ancient DNA sequences known, and megafaunal sequences including mammoth, bison, and horse. The genetic data record a number of dramatic changes in the taxonomic diversity and composition of Beringian vegetation and fauna. Temperate cave sediments in New Zealand also yielded DNA sequences of extinct biota, including two species of ratite moa, and 29 plant taxa characteristic of the prehuman environment. Therefore, many sedimentary deposits may contain unique, and widespread, genetic records of paleoenvironments.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Characterization of genetic miscoding lesions caused by postmortem damage.

The spectrum of postmortem damage in mitochondrial DNA was analyzed in a large data set of cloned sequences from ancient human specimens. The most common forms of damage observed are two complementary groups of transitions, termed "type 1" (adenine-->guanine/thymine-->cytosine) and "type 2" (cytosine-->thymine/guanine-->adenine). Single-primer extension PCR and enzymatic digestion with uracil-N-glycosylase confirm that each of these groups of transitions result from a single event, the deamination of adenine to hypoxanthine, and cytosine to uracil, respectively. The predominant form of transition-manifested damage varies by sample, though a marked bias toward type 2 is observed with increasing amounts of damage. The two transition types can be used to identify the original strand, light (L) or heavy (H), on which the initial damage event occurred, and this can increase the number of detected jumping-PCR artifacts by up to 80%. No bias toward H-strand-specific damage events is noted within the hypervariable 1 region of human mitochondria, suggesting the rapid postmortem degradation of the secondary displacement (D-loop) H strand. The data also indicate that, as damage increases within a sample, fewer H strands retain the ability to act as templates for enzymatic amplification. Last, a significant correlation between archaeological site and sample-specific level of DNA damage was detected.

Archaeology↗
PubMed2002

Distribution patterns of postmortem damage in human mitochondrial DNA.

The distribution of postmortem damage in mitochondrial DNA retrieved from 37 ancient human DNA samples was analyzed by cloning and was compared with a selection of published animal data. A relative rate of damage (rho(v)) was calculated for nucleotide positions within the human hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) and cytochrome oxidase subunit III genes. A comparison of damaged sites within and between the regions reveals that damage hotspots exist and that, in the HVR1, these correlate with sites known to have high in vivo mutation rates. Conversely, HVR1 subregions with known structural function, such as MT5, have lower in vivo mutation rates and lower postmortem-damage rates. The postmortem data also identify a possible functional subregion of the HVR1, termed "low-diversity 1," through the lack of sequence damage. The amount of postmortem damage observed in mitochondrial coding regions was significantly lower than in the HVR1, and, although hotspots were noted, these did not correlate with codon position. Finally, a simple method for the identification of incorrect archaeological haplogroup designations is introduced, on the basis of the observed spectrum of postmortem damage.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The genetic origins of the Andaman Islanders.

Mitochondrial sequences were retrieved from museum specimens of the enigmatic Andaman Islanders to analyze their evolutionary history. D-loop and protein-coding data reveal that phenotypic similarities with African pygmoid groups are convergent. Genetic and epigenetic data are interpreted as favoring the long-term isolation of the Andamanese, extensive population substructure, and/or two temporally distinct settlements. An early colonization featured populations bearing mtDNA lineage M2, and this lineage is hypothesized to represent the phylogenetic signal of an early southern movement of humans through Asia. The results demonstrate that Victorian anthropological collections can be used to study extinct, or seriously admixed populations, to provide new data about early human origins.

Anthropology↗