SPAAM-communityMar 16
Check out this new paper that sheds light on the early #evolution of elephants! Straight-tusked #elephants once roamed across #Eurasia, but one lineage became stranded in Japan?! 🐘🧬 Ancient #mtDNA reveals Palaeoloxodon naumanni as an early-diverging lineage that survived in island isolation.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.114156
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #palaeogenetics #ancientDNA
GenomeBiolEvolFeb 16

Kosakyan et al. sequenced mitogenomes of species from the two main lineages of the Gastrotricha; they found stable mitogenomes in the mostly freshwater Chaetonotida, but a dynamic pattern in the the marine Macrodasyida.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001

#genome #evolution #mtDNA

GenomeBiolEvolFeb 2

The cover of February's issue of Genome Biology and Evolution features the work of Kosakyan et al. on the evolution of mitochondrial genomes in the Gastrotricha.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag001

#genome #evolution #mtDNA

Radical AnthropologyDec 27

Good discussion here of the peopling of #Sahul by a 'long chronology', that is reaching New Guinea and Australia by 60,000 years.

Previous data showing Aus and PNG populations carry the signature of Neanderthal interbreeding (some 55-50 Kya in the Middle East) suggests the 'chronology' was more recent OR all the first wave left no descendants today. But these calibrated #mtDNA results suggest different, people do descend from the early pioneers, entering via two routes, the main one N Indonesia-Philippines, and another southerly one.

#archaeogenetics #maritimearchaeology

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-guineans-aboriginal-australians-descend-groups.html

New Guineans and Aboriginal Australians descend from two groups who arrived 60,000 years ago, research suggests

A collaboration between the University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group and the University of Southampton's Center for Maritime Archaeology, has clarified the first settlement of New Guinea and Australia by modern humans, Homo sapiens—refining our understanding of the origins of seafaring and maritime mobility.

Phys.org
Der Code Des LebensDec 12
🎄 Türchen 12: Mitochondriale DNA
Ein Kind mit drei Eltern? Möglich dank mitochondrialer DNA – winzige Kraftwerke mit eigenem Genom. Prof. Dr. Julia Schulze-Hentrich erzählt.
🎧 https://abc-der-genetik.podigee.io/16-mitochondriale-dna
#ABCderGenetik #mtDNA #Genetik
Mitochondriale DNA: Was wir allein von unseren Müttern erben

In Folge M unserer Serie ABC der Genetik sprechen wir über die mitochondriale DNA (mtDNA), das kleine zweite Genom unserer Zellen. Sie steckt in den Mitochondrien, den „Kraftwerken“ der Zelle, und wird fast ausschließlich über die Mutter vererbt. Mit unserer Genetik-Expertin Prof. Dr. Julia Schulze-Hentrich klären wir, warum Mitochondrien eine eigene DNA besitzen, wie mtDNA weitergegeben wird, welche Rolle sie in Forensik und Paläogenetik spielt und wie mtDNA-Veränderungen zu sehr unterschiedlichen Erkrankungen führen können.

ABC der Genetik
ISOGGDec 1
“Our finding multiple high‐level and sub‐haplogroup contexts of causal mtDNA pathogenic variants in PMD patients proves that although a possible contributor, the modifying effects of haplogroup context are not a main driver of the diagnostic disparities evident for African patients.” #DNA #Haplogroup #HaplogroupL #isogg #mitochrondria #PMD #mtDNA https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12254466/
Mitochondrial DNA Pathogenic Variant Prevalence in Primary Mitochondrial Disease Patients With African (L) Mitochondrial Genome Haplogroups

Primary mitochondrial diseases (PMD) are caused by pathogenic variants in over 350 genes, 37 of which are located in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). While more than 100 mtDNA variants have confirmed disease associations, there are few reports of ...

PubMed Central (PMC)
Daniela Pagenstecher 🇺🇦 🚴‍♂️ 📚Nov 20
Aufgrund statistischer Analysen der mitochondrialen #DNA (#mtDNA) des Homo sapiens wird angenommen, "dass es vor rund 70.000 bis 80.000 Jahren einen genetischen Flaschenhals beim Menschen gegeben haben könnte; seinerzeit hätten demnach nur etwa 1.000 bis 10.000 Individuen von Homo sapiens, größtenteils in Afrika, gelebt."
😳
Den heutigen prozentualen Anteil an Vollidioten vorausgesetzt, konnte sich der " okay-e" Teil der Menschheit zu dieser Zeit in einer Hütte treffen...
#HomoSapiens
EthinNov 3
Nucleic Acids Research used ChatGPT (credited) to generate the cover image for their latest issue. This is one of my favorite journals, but this is a really shitty thing to do. They take in tons of money by charging authors article processing fees, so they can afford to hire an artist. #Science #ScienceMastodon #AcademicChatter #Bioinformatics #DNA #mtDNA
SPAAM-communityNov 3
A new study links the Harbin cranium to Denisovans using DNA hidden in dental calculus. 🦷🧬 The mtDNA connects to Siberian lineages and suggests Denisovans spread widely across Pleistocene Asia. #MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #Denisovan #archaic #mtDNA #calculus
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.05.040
Radical AnthropologyOct 28

#Neanderthals deep into #Asia. New #mtDNA from Crimea, Starosele

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dna-neandertals-traveled-asia

DNA reveals Neandertals traveled thousands of kilometers into Asia

DNA and stone tool comparisons suggest Eastern European Neandertals trekked 3,000 kilometers to Siberia, where they left a genetic and cultural mark.

Science News