Dataset Information

Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

ABSTRACT: The island of Sardinia has been of particular interest to geneticists for decades. The current model for Sardinia's genetic history describes the island as harboring a founder population that was established largely from the Neolithic peoples of southern Europe and remained isolated from later Bronze Age expansions on the mainland. To evaluate this model, we generate genome-wide ancient DNA data for 70 individuals from 21 Sardinian archaeological sites spanning the Middle Neolithic through the Medieval period. The earliest individuals show a strong affinity to western Mediterranean Neolithic populations, followed by an extended period of genetic continuity on the island through the Nuragic period (second millennium BCE). Beginning with individuals from Phoenician/Punic sites (first millennium BCE), we observe spatially-varying signals of admixture with sources principally from the eastern and northern Mediterranean. Overall, our analysis sheds light on the genetic history of Sardinia, revealing how relationships to mainland populations shifted over time.

SUBMITTER: Marcus JH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7039977 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Marcus Joseph H JH Posth Cosimo C Ringbauer Harald H Lai Luca L Skeates Robin R Sidore Carlo C Beckett Jessica J Furtwängler Anja A Olivieri Anna A Chiang Charleston W K CWK Al-Asadi Hussein H Dey Kushal K Joseph Tyler A TA Liu Chi-Chun CC Der Sarkissian Clio C Radzevičiūtė Rita R Michel Megan M Gradoli Maria Giuseppina MG Marongiu Patrizia P Rubino Salvatore S Mazzarello Vittorio V Rovina Daniela D La Fragola Alessandra A Serra Rita Maria RM Bandiera Pasquale P Bianucci Raffaella R Pompianu Elisa E Murgia Clizia C Guirguis Michele M Orquin Rosana Pla RP Tuross Noreen N van Dommelen Peter P Haak Wolfgang W Reich David D Schlessinger David D Cucca Francesco F Krause Johannes J Novembre John J

Nature communications 20200224 1

The island of Sardinia has been of particular interest to geneticists for decades. The current model for Sardinia's genetic history describes the island as harboring a founder population that was established largely from the Neolithic peoples of southern Europe and remained isolated from later Bronze Age expansions on the mainland. To evaluate this model, we generate genome-wide ancient DNA data for 70 individuals from 21 Sardinian archaeological sites spanning the Middle Neolithic through the M ...[more]

PMID: 32094358

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Project description:Background and aimsThe Mediterranean Basin is one of the most important regions for the Earth's plant biodiversity; however, the scarcity of studies on fine scale patterns of genetic variation in this region is striking. Here, an assessment is made of the spatial genetic structure of all known locations of the three Sardinian endemic species of Aquilegia in order to determine the relative roles of gene flow and genetic drift as underlying evolutionary forces canalizing the divergence of Sardinian Aquilegia taxa, and to see if the spatial genetic structure found fits the current taxonomic differentiation of these taxa.MethodsDNA from 89 individuals from all known locations of Aquilegia across Sardinia was analysed by means of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Both principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA) and Bayesian clustering analyses were used to determine the spatial genetic structure irrespective of any taxonomic affiliation. Historical effects of gene flow and genetic drift were assessed by checking for the existence of isolation-by-distance patterns.Key resultsSTRUCTURE and PCoA analyses revealed a pattern of genetic variation geographically structured into four spatial genetic groups. No migration-drift equilibrium was detected for Aquilegia in Sardinia, when analysed either as a whole or in individual groups. The scenario approached a Case III pattern sensu Hutchinson and Templeton, which is associated with extreme isolation conditions where genetic drift has historically played a dominant role over gene flow.ConclusionsThe pattern of genetic variation of Sardinian taxa of Aquilegia indicates that genetic drift has been historically more influential than gene flow on population structure of Sardinian species of Aquilegia. Limited seed dispersal and divergent selection imposed by habitat conditions have been probably the main causes reinforcing post-Pleistocene geographical isolation of Aquilegia populations. The spatial genetic structure found here is not fully compatible with current taxonomic affiliations of Sardinian Aquilegia taxa. This is probably a consequence of the uncoupling between morphological and genetic patterns of differentiation frequently found in recently radiated taxa.

Dataset Information

Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Publications

Genetic history from the Middle Neolithic to present on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

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