Population genomic analysis of elongated skulls reveals extensive female-biased immigration in Early Medieval Bavaria

Veeramah, Krishna R.; Rott, Andreas; Groß, Melanie; Dorp, Lucy van; López, Saioa; Kirsanow, Karola; Sell, Christian; Blöcher, Jens; Wegmann, Daniel; Link, Vivian; Hofmanová, Zuzana; Peters, Joris; Trautmann, Bernd; Gairhos, Anja; Haberstroh, Jochen; Päffgen, Bernd; Hellenthal, Garrett; Haas-Gebhard, Brigitte; Harbeck, Michaela; Burger, Joachim

doi:10.1073/pnas.1719880115

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Population genomic analysis of elongated skulls reveals extensive female-biased immigration in Early Medieval Bavaria

Veeramah, Krishna R. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, NY, USA
Rott, Andreas State Collection for Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy, Bavarian Natural History Collections, Munich, Germany
Groß, Melanie Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Dorp, Lucy van UCL Genetics Institute, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, United Kingdom
López, Saioa Cancer Institute, University College London, United Kingdom
Kirsanow, Karola Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Sell, Christian Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Blöcher, Jens Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Wegmann, Daniel Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Switzerland
Link, Vivian Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Switzerland
Hofmanová, Zuzana Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland - Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Switzerland
Peters, Joris State Collection for Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy, Bavarian Natural History Collections, Munich, Germany
Trautmann, Bernd State Collection for Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy, Bavarian Natural History Collections, Munich, Germany
Gairhos, Anja Bavarian State Archaeological Collection, Munich, Germany
Haberstroh, Jochen Bavarian State Department of Monuments and Sites, Munich, Germany
Päffgen, Bernd Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
Hellenthal, Garrett UCL Genetics Institute, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, United Kingdom
Haas-Gebhard, Brigitte Bavarian State Archaeological Collection, Munich, Germany
Harbeck, Michaela State Collection for Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy, Bavarian Natural History Collections, Munich, Germany
Burger, Joachim Palaeogenetics Group, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany

07.03.2018

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 2018, p. 201719880

English Modern European genetic structure demonstrates strong correlations with geography, while genetic analysis of prehistoric humans has indicated at least two major waves of immigration from outside the continent during periods of cultural change. However, population-level genome data that could shed light on the demographic processes occurring during the intervening periods have been absent. Therefore, we generated genomic data from 41 individuals dating mostly to the late 5th/early 6th century AD from present-day Bavaria in southern Germany, including 11 whole genomes (mean depth 5.56×). In addition we developed a capture array to sequence neutral regions spanning a total of 5 Mb and 486 functional polymorphic sites to high depth (mean 72×) in all individuals. Our data indicate that while men generally had ancestry that closely resembles modern northern and central Europeans, women exhibit a very high genetic heterogeneity; this includes signals of genetic ancestry ranging from western Europe to East Asia. Particularly striking are women with artificial skull deformations; the analysis of their collective genetic ancestry suggests an origin in southeastern Europe. In addition, functional variants indicate that they also differed in visible characteristics. This example of female-biased migration indicates that complex demographic processes during the Early Medieval period may have contributed in an unexpected way to shape the modern European genetic landscape. Examination of the panel of functional loci also revealed that many alleles associated with recent positive selection were already at modern-like frequencies in European populations ∼1,500 years ago.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Biologie

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