DOCSLIB.ORG

Leeds Thesis Template

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

High-resolution characterization of genetic markers in the Arabian Peninsula and Near East Verónica Cristina Neves da Nova Fernandes Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Biology Faculty of Biological Sciences November, 2013 - ii - - iii - I confirm that the work submitted is my own, except where work which has formed part of jointly-authored publications has been included. The contribution of the candidate and the other authors to this work has been explicitly indicated below. I confirm that appropriate credit has been given within the thesis where reference has been made to the work of others. I performed the study of the complete mitochondrial DNA sequencing of the three minor West Eurasian mitochondrial haplogroups, N1, N2 and X, in a collaborative study between University of Leeds, IPATIMUP (the second Institution where I am doing the PhD) and other laboratories. This study is already published in The American Journal of Human Genetics in which I am the first author.1 I performed the laboratory work and also the phylogeography and phylogenetic analyses. The follow authors: Alshamali F., Cherni L., Harich N. and Cerny V., provided the biological samples. Costa M. D., Pereira J. B., Soares P., helped me in the construction of an Excel database with control region (HVS-I and HVS-II) of the mitochondrial DNA sequences already published and deposited in GenBank or reported in the papers and Alves, M. constructed bioinformatic tools used in this study. Finally, Soares P., Richards M. B. and Pereira L., helped me in interpreting the results and drafting the manuscript. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2013 The University of Leeds and Verónica Cristina Neves da Nova Fernandes - iv - - v - Acknowledgements Firstly I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my PhD supervisors, Martin Richards and Luisa Pereira for all the support that allowed this research to be undertaken. To Prof. Martin Richards I am truly grateful for his guidance, support and immense knowledge. I am really thankful for all Luisa Pereira's patience, motivation and enthusiasm. More than a supervisor she became a friend, being always present and guiding me in my research and helping me writing this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better supervisor and mentor. I would like to acknowledge the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, who financially supported my PhD project through the scholarship SFRH/BD/61342/2009 and the project PTDC/CS-ANT/113832/2009. I would like to thank to my two host institutions: IPATIMUP, for the excellent laboratory conditions and staff and most important for the exceptional work environment that allowed me to work with truly friends; and the University of Leeds for all the experience that allowed me to grow not only intellectually but also socially, offering me new friendships and a lot of good moments. I also would like to thank to all my co-workers in the IPATIMUP and in the University of Leeds. Particularly I am very grateful to Pedro Soares for all the scientific advices and help during the statistical analyses; to Petr Triska for helping me with the Genome wide analyses; to Nuno Silva, Marco Alves and Bruno Cavadas for the computer skills; and to Maria Pala for all the laboratory help. I would like to acknowledge Farida Alshamali and Victor Cerny for the Dubai and Yemen samples that without that this research would be scientifically poorer. I am truly thankful to all my friends, for being always there cheering me up, and for all the unforgettable and wonderful moments. At last, but not the least, I would like to thank to my family, for encouraging me and supporting me spiritually throughout my life. - vi - - vii - Abstract In this work, I analysed the maternally transmitted mtDNA and biparentally inherited genome-wide polymorphisms to shed light on successive migrations into and from the Arabian Peninsula, at the crossroads between Africa, Europe and Asia. I focused on three main issues: 1- The first descendants of the out-of-Africa migration: My phylogeographic analysis on 385 complete mtDNA N1, N2 and X sequences showed their common origin in the Gulf Oasis region at ~57-65 ka. Instead of isolation, I identified a continuous gene flow between Arabia and Near East. Genome-wide data supported the strong clustering of Arabian and Near Eastern populations. 2- Major population expansions in the Arabian Peninsula: My data on the rare N(xR) lineages supported a continuous settlement of the Peninsula, while my founder analysis of other N lineages suggested Near Eastern lineages arriving continuously from the Late Glacial (31%-46%; some U and N1 lineages), Younger Dryas (24-28%; R0a and HV), Neolithic (20-25%; J and T; supported by my new complete 44 sequences) and till recently (10-15%; derived lineages). These results again challenge the hypothesis of long-term isolation between these two regions. 3- Genetic exchanges across the Red Sea: Phylogeographic analysis of L4 and L6 mtDNA complete sequences and HVS-I founder analysis from Africa into Arabia/Near East indicated that the Arab maritime dominance and slave trade (0.5- 2.5 ka) were the main contributors (~60-70%) to the African input, but the entrance began with the establishment of maritime networks in the Red Sea by 8 ka. Genome-wide analyses supported this recent introduction (ROLLOFF estimates of 30-40 generations) suggesting that Arabia has 6% eastern African and 3% western African input. The HVS-I founder analysis for the back-to-Africa migrations showed that the Late Glacial period dominated introductions into eastern Africa, while the Neolithic was more important for migrations towards North Africa. - viii - - ix - Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. v Abstract ................................................................................................................. vii Table of Contents ................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xiii List of Figures ........................................................................................................ xv I. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................... xxi II. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 1. The study of human evolution ........................................................................ 2 1.1. Archaeology .......................................................................................... 2 1.2. Palaeontology ........................................................................................ 3 1.3. Climatology ............................................................................................ 4 1.4. Linguistics.............................................................................................. 6 1.5. Genetics ................................................................................................ 7 1.5.1. The DNA Molecule and the coding of information ................. 7 1.5.1.1. The autosomal nuclear genome .................................. 10 1.5.1.2. The non-recombining segments of the genome ........... 14 1.5.1.2.1. The mitochondrial DNA ............................................. 14 1.5.1.2.2. The Y chromosome .................................................. 19 2. Human population genetics .......................................................................... 22 2.1. Extant population analyses .................................................................. 22 2.1.1. Mitochondrial DNA diversity ............................................... 22 2.1.2. Y chromosome diversity ..................................................... 29 2.1.3. Genome wide-diversity ....................................................... 33 2.2. Ancient DNA Analyses......................................................................... 37 3. The origin of modern humans ....................................................................... 39 3.1. Multiregional model ............................................................................. 39 3.2. Out-of-Africa model ............................................................................. 40 3.2.1. Out-of-Africa routes ............................................................ 41 3.2.1.1. Northern route ............................................................. 41 3.2.1.2. Southern route ............................................................. 43 4. The Arabian Peninsula ................................................................................. 45 4.1. Geology ............................................................................................... 46 - x - 4.2. Climate ................................................................................................ 49 4.3. Population Distribution and Composition .............................................. 50 4.4. Linguistics and Geography ................................................................... 53 4.5. Archaeology ........................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Y-Chromosome E Haplogroups: Their Distribution and Implication to the Origin of Afro-Asiatic Languages and Pastoralism

    Y-Chromosome E Haplogroups: Their Distribution and Implication to the Origin of Afro-Asiatic Languages and Pastoralism

    European Journal of Human Genetics (2014) 22, 1387–1392 & 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 1018-4813/14 www.nature.com/ejhg ARTICLE Y-chromosome E haplogroups: their distribution and implication to the origin of Afro-Asiatic languages and pastoralism Eyoab I Gebremeskel1,2 and Muntaser E Ibrahim*,1 Archeological and paleontological evidences point to East Africa as the likely area of early evolution of modern humans. Genetic studies also indicate that populations from the region often contain, but not exclusively, representatives of the more basal clades of mitochondrial and Y-chromosome phylogenies. Most Y-chromosome haplogroup diversity in Africa, however, is present within macrohaplogroup E that seem to have appeared 21 000–32 000 YBP somewhere between the Red Sea and Lake Chad. The combined analysis of 17 bi-allelic markers in 1214 Y chromosomes together with cultural background of 49 populations displayed in various metrics: network, multidimensional scaling, principal component analysis and neighbor-joining plots, indicate a major contribution of East African populations to the foundation of the macrohaplogroup, suggesting a diversification that predates the appearance of some cultural traits and the subsequent expansion that is more associated with the cultural and linguistic diversity witnessed today. The proto-Afro-Asiatic group carrying the E-P2 mutation may have appeared at this point in time and subsequently gave rise to the different major population groups including current speakers of the Afro-Asiatic
  • Arabian Ungulate CAMP & Leopard, Tahr, and Oryx PHVA Final Report 2001.Pdf

    Arabian Ungulate CAMP & Leopard, Tahr, and Oryx PHVA Final Report 2001.Pdf

    Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) For The Arabian Ungulates and Leopard & Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) For the Arabian Leopard, Tahr, and Arabian Oryx 1 © Copyright 2001 by CBSG. A contribution of the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (SSC/IUCN). 2001. Conservation Assessment and Management Plan for the Arabian Leopard and Arabian Ungulates with Population and Habitat Viability Assessments for the Arabian Leopard, Arabian Oryx, and Tahr Reports. CBSG, Apple Valley, MN. USA. Additional copies of Conservation Assessment and Management Plan for the Arabian Leopard and Arabian Ungulates with Population and Habitat Viability Assessments for the Arabian Leopard, Arabian Oryx, and Tahr Reports can be ordered through the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, 12101 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, MN 55124. USA. 2 Donor 3 4 Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) For The Arabian Ungulates and Leopard & Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) For the Arabian Leopard, Tahr, and Arabian Oryx TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: Executive Summary 5. SECTION 2: Arabian Gazelles Reports 18. SECTION 3: Tahr and Ibex Reports 28. SECTION 4: Arabian Oryx Reports 41. SECTION 5: Arabian Leopard Reports 56. SECTION 6: New IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria; Taxon Data Sheet; and CBSG Workshop Process. 66. SECTION 7: List of Participants 116. 5 6 Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) For The Arabian Ungulates and Leopard & Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) For the Arabian Leopard, Tahr, and Arabian Oryx SECTION 1 Executive Summary 7 8 Executive Summary The ungulates of the Arabian peninsula region - Arabian Oryx, Arabian tahr, ibex, and the gazelles - generally are poorly known among local communities and the general public.
  • Y-Chromosome and Surname Analyses for Reconstructing Past Population Structures: the Sardinian Population As a Test Case

    Y-Chromosome and Surname Analyses for Reconstructing Past Population Structures: the Sardinian Population As a Test Case

    International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article Y-chromosome and Surname Analyses for Reconstructing Past Population Structures: The Sardinian Population as a Test Case Viola Grugni 1, Alessandro Raveane 1, Giulia Colombo 1, Carmen Nici 1, Francesca Crobu 1,2, Linda Ongaro 1,3,4, Vincenza Battaglia 1, Daria Sanna 1,5, Nadia Al-Zahery 1, Ornella Fiorani 6, Antonella Lisa 6, Luca Ferretti 1 , Alessandro Achilli 1, Anna Olivieri 1, Paolo Francalacci 7, Alberto Piazza 8, Antonio Torroni 1 and Ornella Semino 1,* 1 Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie “L. Spallanzani”, Università di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy; [email protected] (V.G.); [email protected] (A.R.); [email protected] (G.C.); [email protected] (C.N.); [email protected] (F.C.); [email protected] (L.O.); [email protected] (V.B.); [email protected] (D.S.); [email protected] (N.A.-Z.); [email protected] (L.F.); [email protected] (A.A.); [email protected] (A.O.); [email protected] (A.T.) 2 Istituto di Ricerca Genetica e Biomedica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 09042 Monserrato, Italy 3 Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, Riia 23, 51010 Tartu, Estonia 4 Department of Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Riia 23, 51010 Tartu, Estonia 5 Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy 6 Istituto di Genetica Molecolare “L.L. Cavalli-Sforza”, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), 27100 Pavia, Italy; fi[email protected]
  • Germanic Origins from the Perspective of the Y-Chromosome

    Germanic Origins from the Perspective of the Y-Chromosome

    Germanic Origins from the Perspective of the Y-Chromosome By Michael Robert St. Clair A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in German in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Irmengard Rauch, Chair Thomas F. Shannon Montgomery Slatkin Spring 2012 Abstract Germanic Origins from the Perspective of the Y-Chromosome by Michael Robert St. Clair Doctor of Philosophy in German University of California, Berkeley Irmengard Rauch, Chair This dissertation holds that genetic data are a useful tool for evaluating contemporary models of Germanic origins. The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and include among their major contemporary representatives English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic. Historically, the search for Germanic origins has sought to determine where the Germanic languages evolved, and why the Germanic languages are similar to and different from other European languages. Both archaeological and linguist approaches have been employed in this research direction. The linguistic approach to Germanic origins is split among those who favor the Stammbaum theory and those favoring language contact theory. Stammbaum theory posits that Proto-Germanic separated from an ancestral Indo-European parent language. This theoretical approach accounts for similarities between Germanic and other Indo- European languages by posting a period of mutual development. Germanic innovations, on the other hand, occurred in isolation after separation from the parent language. Language contact theory posits that Proto-Germanic was the product of language convergence and this convergence explains features that Germanic shares with other Indo-European languages.
  • Original File Was Neolithicadmixture4.Tex

    Original File Was Neolithicadmixture4.Tex

    Supplementary Information: Parallel ancient genomic transects reveal complex population history of early European farmers Table of Contents Supplementary note 1: Archaeological summary of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the region of today’s Hungary………………………………………………………………………....2 Supplementary note 2: Description of archaeological sites………………………………………..8 Supplementary note 3: Y chromosomal data……………………………………………………...45 Supplementary note 4: Neolithic Anatolians as a surrogate for first European farmers..………...65 Supplementary note 5: WHG genetic structure and admixture……………………………….......68 Supplementary note 6: f-statistics and admixture graphs………………………………………....72 Supplementary note 7: ALDER.....……..…………………………………………………...........79 Supplementary note 8: Simulations……………………………………………….…...................83 1 Supplementary note 1: Archaeological summary of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the region of today’s Hungary The Carpathian Basin (including the reagion of today’s Hungary) played a prominent role in all prehistoric periods: it was the core territory of one cultural complex and, at the same time, the periphery of another, and it also acted as a mediating or contact zone. The archaeological record thus preserves evidence of contacts with diverse regions, whose vestiges can be found on settlements and in the cemeteries (grave inventories) as well. The earliest farmers arrived in the Carpathian Basin from southeastern Europe ca. 6000–5800 BCE and they culturally belonged to the Körös-Çris (east) and Starčevo (west) archaeological formations [1, 2, 3, 4]. They probably encountered some hunter-gatherer groups in the Carpathian Basin, whose archaeological traces are still scarce [5], and bioarchaeological remains are almost unknown from Hungary. The farmer communities east (Alföld) and west (Transdanubia) of the Danube River developed in parallel, giving rise around 5600/5400 BCE to a number of cultural groups of the Linearband Ceramic (LBK) culture [6, 7, 8].
  • Origin and Spread of Haplogroup N Clyde Winters Uthman Dan Fodio Institute Chicago, Illinois 60643 Email: Olmec982000@Yahoo.Com

    Origin and Spread of Haplogroup N Clyde Winters Uthman Dan Fodio Institute Chicago, Illinois 60643 Email: [email protected]

    ADVANCES IN BIORESEARCH, Vol 1 [1] JUNE 2010: 61 - 65 Society of Education, India RESEARCH ARTICLE http://www.soeagra.com ISSN 0976-4585 Origin and Spread of Haplogroup N Clyde Winters Uthman dan Fodio Institute Chicago, Illinois 60643 Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Haplogroup N is a common genome in Africa. Here we use Archaeogenetics to discuss and explain the rise and spread of haplogroup N from the Great Lakes Region of East Africa to Nigeria and the Senegambia region. The paper uses craniometric and molecular evidence to explain how haplogroup N was probably taken to western Eurasia across the Straits of Gibratar by the Khoisan people who established the Aurignacian culture in Europe. KEY WORDS: Haplogroup N, Africa. ORIGIN AND SPREAD OF HAPLOGROUP N Controversy surrounds the existence of haplogroup N in Africa. Some researchers have suggested that haplogroups N probably originated in Africa [1,2]. Quintana-Murci et al [1] has suggested that haplogroup N probably originated in Ethiopia before the out of Africa migration. Other researchers believe that haplogroup N in Africa is the result of a back migration. The craniofacial and molecular evidence does not support this conclusion. The molecular evidence indicates that haplogroup N is found across Africa from East to West [3]. Archaeogenetics is the use of genetics, archaeology and linguistics to explain and discuss the origin and spread of homo sapiens. Using this methodology we can gain valuable insight into human history and population movements in prehistoric times. In this paper we will examine the spread of haplogroup N from Africa to Eurasia.
  • Genetic Analysis of the Major Tribes of Buner and Swabi Areas Through Dental Morphology and Dna Analysis

    Genetic Analysis of the Major Tribes of Buner and Swabi Areas Through Dental Morphology and Dna Analysis

    GENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE MAJOR TRIBES OF BUNER AND SWABI AREAS THROUGH DENTAL MORPHOLOGY AND DNA ANALYSIS MUHAMMAD TARIQ DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS HAZARA UNIVERSITY MANSEHRA 2017 I HAZARA UNIVERSITY MANSEHRA Department of Genetics GENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE MAJOR TRIBES OF BUNER AND SWABI AREAS THROUGH DENTAL MORPHOLOGY AND DNA ANALYSIS By Muhammad Tariq This research study has been conducted and reported as partial fulfillment of the requirements of PhD degree in Genetics awarded by Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan Mansehra The Friday 17, February 2017 I ABSTRACT This dissertation is part of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) funded project, “Enthnogenetic elaboration of KP through Dental Morphology and DNA analysis”. This study focused on five major ethnic groups (Gujars, Jadoons, Syeds, Tanolis, and Yousafzais) of Buner and Swabi Districts, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan, through investigations of variations in morphological traits of the permanent tooth crown, and by molecular anthropology based on mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA analyses. The frequencies of seven dental traits, of the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) were scored as 17 tooth- trait combinations for each sample, encompassing a total sample size of 688 individuals. These data were compared to data collected in an identical fashion among samples of prehistoric inhabitants of the Indus Valley, southern Central Asia, and west-central peninsular India, as well as to samples of living members of ethnic groups from Abbottabad, Chitral, Haripur, and Mansehra Districts, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to samples of living members of ethnic groups residing in Gilgit-Baltistan. Similarities in dental trait frequencies were assessed with C.A.B.
  • Mutation Rate Switch Inside Eurasian Mitochondrial Haplogroups: Impact of Selection and Consequences for Dating Settlement in Europe

    Mutation Rate Switch Inside Eurasian Mitochondrial Haplogroups: Impact of Selection and Consequences for Dating Settlement in Europe

    Mutation Rate Switch inside Eurasian Mitochondrial Haplogroups: Impact of Selection and Consequences for Dating Settlement in Europe Denis Pierron1, Ivan Chang4, Amal Arachiche1, Margit Heiske1, Olivier Thomas1, Marine Borlin1, Erwan Pennarun5, Pacal Murail3, Didier Thoraval2, Christophe Rocher1, Thierry Letellier1* 1 Laboratoire de Physiopathologie Mitochondriale U688, INSERM - Universite´ Victor Segalen-Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France, 2 Institut de Biochimie et Ge´ne´tique Cellulaires UMR 5095, CNRS - Universite´ Victor Segalen-Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France, 3 Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passe´ PACEA UMR 5199, CNRS - Universite´ Bordeaux 1, Talence, France, 4 Institute of Genomic Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America, 5 Department of Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu and Estonian Biocentre, Tartu, Estonia Abstract R-lineage mitochondrial DNA represents over 90% of the European population and is significantly present all around the planet (North Africa, Asia, Oceania, and America). This lineage played a major role in migration ‘‘out of Africa’’ and colonization in Europe. In order to determine an accurate dating of the R lineage and its sublineages, we analyzed 1173 individuals and complete mtDNA sequences from Mitomap. This analysis revealed a new coalescence age for R at 54.500 years, as well as several limitations of standard dating methods, likely to lead to false interpretations. These findings highlight the association of a striking under-accumulation of synonymous mutations, an over-accumulation of non- synonymous mutations, and the phenotypic effect on haplogroup J. Consequently, haplogroup J is apparently not a Neolithic group but an older haplogroup (Paleolithic) that was subjected to an underestimated selective force.
  • An Overview of the Independent Histories of the Human Y Chromosome and the Human Mitochondrial Chromosome

    An Overview of the Independent Histories of the Human Y Chromosome and the Human Mitochondrial Chromosome

    The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism Volume 8 Print Reference: Pages 133-151 Article 7 2018 An Overview of the Independent Histories of the Human Y Chromosome and the Human Mitochondrial chromosome Robert W. Carter Stephen Lee University of Idaho John C. Sanford Cornell University, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences School of Integrative Plant Science,Follow this Plant and Biology additional Section works at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings DigitalCommons@Cedarville provides a publication platform for fully open access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication. However, the opinions and sentiments expressed by the authors of articles published in our journals do not necessarily indicate the endorsement or reflect the views of DigitalCommons@Cedarville, the Centennial Library, or Cedarville University and its employees. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their work. Please address questions to [email protected]. Browse the contents of this volume of The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism. Recommended Citation Carter, R.W., S.S. Lee, and J.C. Sanford. An overview of the independent histories of the human Y- chromosome and the human mitochondrial chromosome. 2018. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism, ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 133–151. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. Carter, R.W., S.S. Lee, and J.C. Sanford. An overview of the independent histories of the human Y-chromosome and the human mitochondrial chromosome. 2018. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism, ed. J.H.
  • Introduction Since Time Immemorial, Human Beings Have Used Narrative

    Introduction Since Time Immemorial, Human Beings Have Used Narrative

    Chapter 1 – Introduction Since time immemorial, human beings have used narrative to help us make sense of our experience of life. From the fireside to the theatre, from the television and silver screen to the more recent manifestations of the virtual world, we have used storytelling as a means of providing structure, order, and coherence to what can otherwise appear an overwhelming infinity of random, unrelated events. In ordering the perceived chaos of the world around us into a structure we can grasp, narrative provides insight and understanding not only of events themselves, but on a more fundamental level, of the very essence of what it means to live as a human being. As the primary means by which historical writing is organized, narrative has attracted a large body of historians and philosophers who have grappled with its impact on our understanding of the past. Underlying their work is the tension between historical writing as a reflection of what took place in the past, and the essence of narrative as a creative, imaginative act. The very structure of Aristotelian narrative, with its causal link between events, its clearly defined beginning, middle and end, its promise of catharsis, its theme or moral, reflects an act of imagination on the part of its author. While an effective narrative first and foremost strives to draw us into its world of story and keep us there until the ending, the primary goal of historical writing, in theory at least, is to increase our understanding about the past. While these two goals are not inherently incompatible, they do not always work in concert.
  • HUMAN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA HAPLOGROUP J in EUROPE and NEAR EAST M.Sc

    HUMAN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA HAPLOGROUP J in EUROPE and NEAR EAST M.Sc

    UNIVERSITY OF TARTU FACULTY OF BIOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY, INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR AND CELL BIOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY Piia Serk HUMAN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA HAPLOGROUP J IN EUROPE AND NEAR EAST M.Sc. Thesis Supervisors: Ph.D. Ene Metspalu, Prof. Richard Villems Tartu 2004 Table of contents Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................3 Definition of basic terms used in the thesis.........................................................................3 Introduction................................................................................................................................4 Literature overview ....................................................................................................................5 West–Eurasian mtDNA tree................................................................................................5 Fast mutation rate of mtDNA..............................................................................................9 Estimation of a coalescence time ......................................................................................10 Topology of mtDNA haplogroup J....................................................................................12 Geographic spread of mtDNA haplogroup J.....................................................................20 The aim of the present study ....................................................................................................22
  • Ancient Mitochondrial DNA from Pre-Historic

    Ancient Mitochondrial DNA from Pre-Historic

    Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Masters Theses Graduate Research and Creative Practice 4-30-2011 Ancient Mitochondrial DNA From Pre-historic Southeastern Europe: The rP esence of East Eurasian Haplogroups Provides Evidence of Interactions with South Siberians Across the Central Asian Steppe Belt Jeremy R. Newton Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/theses Part of the Cell Biology Commons, and the Molecular Biology Commons Recommended Citation Newton, Jeremy R., "Ancient Mitochondrial DNA From Pre-historic Southeastern Europe: The rP esence of East Eurasian Haplogroups Provides Evidence of Interactions with South Siberians Across the Central Asian Steppe Belt" (2011). Masters Theses. 5. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/theses/5 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research and Creative Practice at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANCIENT MITOCHONDRIAL DNA FROM PRE-HISTORIC SOUTH- EASTERN EUROPE: THE PRESENCE OF EAST EURASIAN HAPLOGROUPS PROVIDES EVIDENCE OF INTERACTIONS WITH SOUTH SIBERIANS ACROSS THE CENTRAL ASIAN STEPPE BELT A thesis submittal in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science By Jeremy R. Newton To Cell and Molecular Biology Department Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI April, 2011 “Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to every person who has motivated, directed, and encouraged me throughout this thesis project. I especially thank my graduate advisor, Dr.