Cecilia Anderung

Cattle domestication in the Near East was followed by hybridization with aurochs bulls in Europe

Domesticated cattle were one of the cornerstones of European Neolithisation and are thought to have been introduced to Europe from areas of aurochs domestication in the Near East. This is consistent with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data, where a clear separation exists between modern European cattle and ancient specimens of British aurochsen. However, we show that Y chromosome haplotypes of north European cattle breeds are more similar to haplotypes from ancient specimens of European aurochsen, than to contemporary cattle breeds from southern Europe and the Near East. There is a sharp north–south gradient across Europe among modern cattle breeds in the frequencies of two distinct Y chromosome haplotypes; the northern haplotype is found in 20 out of 21 European aurochsen or early domestic cattle dated 9500–1000 BC. This indicates that local hybridization with male aurochsen has left a paternal imprint on the genetic composition of modern central and north European breeds. Surreptitious mating between aurochs bulls and domestic cows may have been hard to avoid, or may have occurred intentionally to improve the breeding stock. Rather than originating from a few geographical areas only, as indicated by mtDNA, our data suggest that the origin of domestic cattle may be far more complex than previously thought.

Staying out in the cold : glacial refugia and mitochondrial DNA phylogeography in ancient European brown bears.

Models for the development of species distribution in Europe typically invoke restriction in three temperate Mediterranean refugia during glaciations, from where recolonization of central and northern Europe occurred. The brown bear, Ursus arctos, is one of the taxa from which this model is derived. Sequence data generated from brown bear fossils show a complex phylogeographical history for western European populations. Long‐term isolation in separate refugia is not required to explain our data when considering the palaeontological distribution of brown bears. We propose continuous gene flow across southern Europe, from which brown bear populations expanded after the last glaciation.

Fishing for ancient DNA

The major problems concerning ancient DNA studies are related to the amount of extractable DNA and the precautions needed to avoid contamination. From the very first step of the analyses, the DNA extraction, these problems must be confronted. There are several extraction methods available for DNA in ancient tissue; several of them are complicated and time consuming, and none of the methods have reached an acceptance level such that they are routinely used on a widespread basis. Here we investigate the efficiency of two methods, one based on magnetic separation of the targeted molecules, and one based on silica binding. The efficiency rate of these two on the material studied seems to be identical. The silica binding method has the benefit of relative simplicity, but the magnetic separation technique also has advantages. For example, it is possible to reuse the extract several times for different loci, and it is possible to concentrate all extracted DNA from one locus into one PCR.

Medieval remains from Lithuania indicate loss of a mitochondrial haplotype in Bison bonasus.

Medieval remains from Lithuania indicate loss of a mitochondrial haplotype in Bison bonasus.

A Swedish subfossil find of a bowhead whale from the late Pleistocene: shore displacement, paleoecology in south-west Sweden and the identity of the Swedenborg whale (Balaena swedenborgii Liljeborg, 1867)

The Swedenborg whale Balaena swedenborgii Liljeborg, 1867, is a baleen whale species believed to have existed in the North Sea from the period when the inland ice melted around 13,000 before present (BP) until about 8000 years ago. The first bones attributed to this species were found in Sweden in 1705. When whale remains were discovered on the Swedish west coast during the extension work of a motorway extension, it was speculated that this could be a specimen of the extinct Swedenborg whale. The bones were found 72 m above the present-day sea level embedded in glacial mud. Shelly remains of marine organisms were present in the deposit surrounding the whale-fall, and sediments with the associated specimens were therefore collected for further analyses. We applied radiocarbon dating, thin sectioning, morphological analyses, ancient DNA typing and analyses of the associated shelly assemblage in an interdisciplinary effort to understand the circumstances of this fossil whale-fall. Our results show that the whale is not the putative species B. swedenborgii, but a bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus. The results also indicate that the whale must have been rapidly covered by glacial sediments, highlighting the speed of the deglacial process in the area.