Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia.

Western Eurasia witnessed several large-scale human migrations during the Holocene1-5. Here, to investigate the cross-continental effects of these migrations, we shotgun-sequenced 317 genomes-mainly from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods-from across northern and western Eurasia. These were imputed alongside published data to obtain diploid genotypes from more than 1,600 ancient humans. Our analyses revealed a 'great divide' genomic boundary extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers were highly genetically differentiated east and west of this zone, and the effect of the neolithization was equally disparate. Large-scale ancestry shifts occurred in the west as farming was introduced, including near-total replacement of hunter-gatherers in many areas, whereas no substantial ancestry shifts happened east of the zone during the same period. Similarly, relatedness decreased in the west from the Neolithic transition onwards, whereas, east of the Urals, relatedness remained high until around 4,000 BP, consistent with the persistence of localized groups of hunter-gatherers. The boundary dissolved when Yamnaya-related ancestry spread across western Eurasia around 5,000 BP, resulting in a second major turnover that reached most parts of Europe within a 1,000-year span. The genetic origin and fate of the Yamnaya have remained elusive, but we show that hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region contributed ancestry to them. Yamnaya groups later admixed with individuals associated with the Globular Amphora culture before expanding into Europe. Similar turnovers occurred in western Siberia, where we report new genomic data from a 'Neolithic steppe' cline spanning the Siberian forest steppe to Lake Baikal. These prehistoric migrations had profound and lasting effects on the genetic diversity of Eurasian populations.

An Erythropoietin-Independent Mechanism of Erythrocytic Precursor Proliferation Underlies Hypoxia Tolerance in Sea Nomads.

The Bajau Sea Nomads were recently demonstrated to have evolved larger spleens as an adaptation to millennia of a marine foraging lifestyle. The large-spleen phenotype appears to derive from increases in thyroid hormone (TH) production as a result of reduced expression of phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A), though the exact mechanism remains unknown. Through pharmacological inhibition of PDE10A using the selective inhibitor MP-10 in mice, we were able to mimic the Bajau adaptation and show that treated mice had significantly larger spleens than control animals. This difference appears connected to an excess of early stage erythrocytes and an apparent increase in red blood cell (RBC) precursor proliferation in response to increased TH. However, we determined that the stimulation of RBC production in the mouse model via TH is Erythropoietin (EPO)-independent, unlike in the altitude (chronic hypoxemia) response. We confirmed this using human GWAS data; although the Bajau PDE10A variants are significantly associated with increased TH levels and RBC count, they are not associated with EPO levels, nor are other strongly thyroid-associated SNPs. We therefore suggest that an EPO-independent mechanism of stimulating RBC precursor proliferation via TH upregulation underlies the increase in spleen size observed in Sea Nomad populations.

Adaptive Properties of the Genetically Encoded Amino Acid Alphabet Are Inherited from Its Subsets.

Life uses a common set of 20 coded amino acids (CAAs) to construct proteins. This set was likely canonicalized during early evolution; before this, smaller amino acid sets were gradually expanded as new synthetic, proofreading and coding mechanisms became biologically available. Many possible subsets of the modern CAAs or other presently uncoded amino acids could have comprised the earlier sets. We explore the hypothesis that the CAAs were selectively fixed due to their unique adaptive chemical properties, which facilitate folding, catalysis, and solubility of proteins, and gave adaptive value to organisms able to encode them. Specifically, we studied in silico hypothetical CAA sets of 3-19 amino acids comprised of 1913 structurally diverse α-amino acids, exploring the adaptive value of their combined physicochemical properties relative to those of the modern CAA set. We find that even hypothetical sets containing modern CAA members are especially adaptive; it is difficult to find sets even among a large choice of alternatives that cover the chemical property space more amply. These results suggest that each time a CAA was discovered and embedded during evolution, it provided an adaptive value unusual among many alternatives, and each selective step may have helped bootstrap the developing set to include still more CAAs.

Human Disease Variation in the Light of Population Genomics.

Identifying the causes of similarities and differences in genetic disease prevalence among humans is central to understanding disease etiology. While present-day humans are not strongly differentiated, vast amounts of genomic data now make it possible to study subtle patterns of genetic variation. This allows us to trace our genomic history thousands of years into the past and its implications for the distribution of disease-associated variants today. Genomic analyses have shown that demographic processes shaped the distribution and frequency of disease-associated variants over time. Furthermore, local adaptation to new environmental conditions-including pathogens-has generated strong patterns of differentiation at particular loci. Researchers are also beginning to uncover the genetic architecture of complex diseases, affected by many variants of small effect. The field of population genomics thus holds great potential for providing further insights into the evolution of human disease.

Human adaptation to extreme environmental conditions.

Modern humans inhabit most of earth's harshest environments and display a wide array of lifestyles. Biological adaptations, in addition to technological innovations, have enabled these geographical and cultural explorations. The study of these adaptations helps not only to fundamentally understand our evolution as a species, but also may have increasing relevance as genomics transforms fields such as personalized medicine. Here we review three cultural and environmental shifts that have brought about adaptations in modern humans; the arctic, high altitudes, and a subsistence dependent on breath-hold diving.

The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia.

The Yamnaya expansions from the western steppe into Europe and Asia during the Early Bronze Age (~3000 BCE) are believed to have brought with them Indo-European languages and possibly horse husbandry. We analyzed 74 ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia and show that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya. Our results also suggest distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after, but not at the time of, Yamnaya culture. We find no evidence of steppe ancestry in Bronze Age Anatolia from when Indo-European languages are attested there. Thus, in contrast to Europe, Early Bronze Age Yamnaya-related migrations had limited direct genetic impact in Asia.

Ancient Biomolecules and Evolutionary Inference.

Over the past three decades, studies of ancient biomolecules-particularly ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids-have revolutionized our understanding of evolutionary history. Though initially fraught with many challenges, today the field stands on firm foundations. Researchers now successfully retrieve nucleotide and amino acid sequences, as well as lipid signatures, from progressively older samples, originating from geographic areas and depositional environments that, until recently, were regarded as hostile to long-term preservation of biomolecules. Sampling frequencies and the spatial and temporal scope of studies have also increased markedly, and with them the size and quality of the data sets generated. This progress has been made possible by continuous technical innovations in analytical methods, enhanced criteria for the selection of ancient samples, integrated experimental methods, and advanced computational approaches. Here, we discuss the history and current state of ancient biomolecule research, its applications to evolutionary inference, and future directions for this young and exciting field.

Physiological and Genetic Adaptations to Diving in Sea Nomads.

Understanding the physiology and genetics of human hypoxia tolerance has important medical implications, but this phenomenon has thus far only been investigated in high-altitude human populations. Another system, yet to be explored, is humans who engage in breath-hold diving. The indigenous Bajau people ("Sea Nomads") of Southeast Asia live a subsistence lifestyle based on breath-hold diving and are renowned for their extraordinary breath-holding abilities. However, it is unknown whether this has a genetic basis. Using a comparative genomic study, we show that natural selection on genetic variants in the PDE10A gene have increased spleen size in the Bajau, providing them with a larger reservoir of oxygenated red blood cells. We also find evidence of strong selection specific to the Bajau on BDKRB2, a gene affecting the human diving reflex. Thus, the Bajau, and possibly other diving populations, provide a new opportunity to study human adaptation to hypoxia tolerance. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

High Y-chromosomal Differentiation Among Ethnic Groups of Dir and Swat Districts, Pakistan.

The ethnic groups that inhabit the mountainous Dir and Swat districts of northern Pakistan are marked by high levels of cultural and phenotypic diversity. To obtain knowledge of the extent of genetic diversity in this region, we investigated Y-chromosomal diversity in five population samples representing the three main ethnic groups residing within these districts, including Gujars, Pashtuns and Kohistanis. A total of 27 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) and 331 Y-chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) were investigated. In the Y-STRs, we observed very high and significant levels of genetic differentiation in nine of the 10 pairwise between-group comparisons (RST 0.179-0.746), and the differences were mirrored in the Y-SNP haplogroup frequency distribution. No genetic differences were found between the two Pashtun subethnic groups Tarklanis and Yusafzais (RST = 0.000). Utmankhels, also considered Pashtuns culturally, were not closely related to any of the other population samples (RST 0.451-0.746). Thus, our findings provide examples of both associations and dissociations between cultural and genetic legacies. When analyzed within a larger continental-scale context, these five ethnic groups fall mostly outside the previously characterized Y-chromosomal gene pools of the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. Male founder effects, coupled with culturally and topographically based constraints upon marriage and movement, are likely responsible for the high degree of genetic structure in this region.

Transferable Measurements of Heredity in Models of the Origins of Life.

We propose a metric which can be used to compute the amount of heritable variation enabled by a given dynamical system. A distribution of selection pressures is used such that each pressure selects a particular fixed point via competitive exclusion in order to determine the corresponding distribution of potential fixed points in the population dynamics. This metric accurately detects the number of species present in artificially prepared test systems, and furthermore can correctly determine the number of heritable sets in clustered transition matrix models in which there are no clearly defined genomes. Finally, we apply our metric to the GARD model and show that it accurately reproduces prior measurements of the model's heritability.

Extraordinarily adaptive properties of the genetically encoded amino acids.

Using novel advances in computational chemistry, we demonstrate that the set of 20 genetically encoded amino acids, used nearly universally to construct all coded terrestrial proteins, has been highly influenced by natural selection. We defined an adaptive set of amino acids as one whose members thoroughly cover relevant physico-chemical properties, or "chemistry space." Using this metric, we compared the encoded amino acid alphabet to random sets of amino acids. These random sets were drawn from a computationally generated compound library containing 1913 alternative amino acids that lie within the molecular weight range of the encoded amino acids. Sets that cover chemistry space better than the genetically encoded alphabet are extremely rare and energetically costly. Further analysis of more adaptive sets reveals common features and anomalies, and we explore their implications for synthetic biology. We present these computations as evidence that the set of 20 amino acids found within the standard genetic code is the result of considerable natural selection. The amino acids used for constructing coded proteins may represent a largely global optimum, such that any aqueous biochemistry would use a very similar set.

Ribosomal tag pyrosequencing of DNA and RNA from benthic coral reef microbiota: community spatial structure, rare members and nitrogen-cycling guilds.

Ribosomal tag libraries based on DNA and RNA in coral reef sediment from Hawaii show the microbial community to be dominated by the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, the archaeal order Nitrosopumilales and the uncultivated divisions Marine Group III (Euryarchaeota) and Marine Benthic Group C (Crenarchaeota). Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) number in the high thousands, and richness varies with site, presence or absence of porewater sulfide (sediment depth), and nucleotide pool. Rank abundance curves of DNA-based libraries, but not RNA-based libraries, possess a tail of low abundance taxa, supporting the existence of an inactive 'rare' biosphere. While bacterial libraries from two oxic samples differ markedly, those from two anoxic (sulfidic) samples are similar. The four dominant bacterial OTUs are members of genera that include pathogens, but are found in marine environments, and include facultative anaerobes, i.e. dissimilatory nitrate reducers and denitrifiers. This may explain their abundance in both oxic and anoxic samples. A numerous archaeon is closely related to the lithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer Nitrosopumilus maritimus. Known bacterial ammonia oxidizers are essentially absent, but bacterial nitrite oxidizers are abundant. Although other studies of this reef found evidence for anaerobic ammonia oxidizers, primer bias rendered that clade invisible to this study.