F Mallegni

DNA analyses of the remains of the Prince Branciforte Barresi family

Abstract The five skeletons found buried in the church of Militello di Catania, Sicily, were tentatively identified by morphological analysis and historical reports as the remains of Prince Branciforte Barresi, two of his children, his brother and another juvenile member of the family (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries). In order to attempt to clarify the degree of relationships of the five skeletons, sex testing and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analysis of the hypervariable segments I and II (HV1 and HV2) of control region were performed. Moreover, the 9 bp-deletion marker of region V (COII/tRNA lys) was examined. Molecular genetic analyses were consistent with historical expectations, although they did not directly demonstrate that these are in fact the remains of the Prince and his relatives, due to the impossibility of obtaining DNA from living maternal relatives of the Prince.

A molecular approach to the study of the ancient populations of southern Italy

Abstract The peopling of southern Italy must be traced back to the first expansion of the early forms of our species because of the geographical location of this area in the middle of the Mediterranean basin. Since then, the area was the site of a complex network of migration of different peoples, mainly from Phoenicia, Greece, Arabia, the Balkans, the Middle and Near East and north Africa, resulting in a heterogeneous pattern of both cultural and genetic interactions. In order to test the extent of the genetic impact of these various populations upon the peoples of southern Italy, a mitochondrial-DNA (mtDNA)-based research program was undertaken. This would help trace the geographic origin and past history of these populations. Previous detailed and extensive investigations on the distribution of traditional marker allele frequencies in the Sicilian and Apulian extant populations, could only clearly detect the presence of the more recent gene flow from north Africa and the Middle East, superimposed on a predominant Greek genetic substratum. No traces of the ancient groups who peopled Italy in pre-Roman times were detected. Other authors still claim that it is possible to determine the existence of such ancient traces in southern Italy, stressing the difficulties connected to the reconstruction of human evolution based uniquely on the present structure of the genes. Until recently, population genetic studies have heavily relied upon indirect evidence from the genetics of extant populations as well as information gained from cultural, historical and anthropological sources. The possibility to recover DNA from ancient soft tissue, bone and teeth, and the development of sensitive molecular techniques, such as PCR, have enabled us to directly compare genetic diversity between extinct populations and their extant counterparts. This has also provided a temporal dimension to the study of molecular evolution. These comparisons will generate independent data to address archaeological issues concerning migration, population replacement, lineage extinction, inbreeding, and the genetic relationships of ancient human populations. DNA from bone and tooth samples obtained from the necropoles of Rifriscolaro (6th century BC) and Ticchiara (Bronze age), and DNA of extant populations from various Mediterranean areas, were extracted and analysed for mtDNA polymorphisms (region V, D-loop I and II). Moreover, in order to identify the remains of the family of the Prince Branciforte (a Sicilian maecenas and benefactor who lived between 16th and 17th centuries), molecular sex identification and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses were used. a-DNA were extracted from the ribs of two adult and three young individuals. NJ and ML phylogenetic reconstructions, performed to verify the reliability of the identified ancient lineages, confirmed the clustering of the Mediterranean mtDNAs into distinct lineage groups, each defined by a set of associated polymorphisms. The joint analysis of D-loop I and II allowed the identification of at least three distinct lineages within the previously identified aplogroup 1 (or H).

The tale of Henry VII: a multidisciplinary approach to determining the post-mortem practice

During the Middle Ages in Europe, a different post-mortem funerary custom came to be used in order to transport and solemnly dispose of the bodies of high-status individuals. Because of their high degree of mobility, most medieval kings and queens rarely died where they had planned to be buried; thus, they had to be moved to the place of burial. Ancient writings describe some post-mortem funerary practices carried out to facilitate transport, such as boiling or burning of bodies after death.The remains of Henry VII of Luxembourg were analysed in order to determine which post-mortem practices were utilized. A detailed chemical-physical analysis was conducted to highlight the changes in the bone matrix due to post-mortem alteration. Boiling and burning leave different marks in the bone that could be differentiated through the analysis of the inorganic and organic components of the bone. Accordingly, anthropological, X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), collagen ratio, and scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM/EDAX) analysis were performed on two different bone fragments: cranial and tibial shaft. This multidisciplinary approach has enriched scientific understanding of the post-mortem practices to which the skull and tibial shaft of Henry VII were subjected. The results highlight that the tibial shaft was treated under higher temperature respect to the skull. Furthermore, this analysis also shed light on the state of preservation of the bone fragments analysed and has allowed us to initiate more complex molecular analysis, as well as ancient DNA analysis.