22 research outputs found
Investigating the global dispersal of chickens in prehistory using ancient mitochondrial dna signatures
Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testingExcavations in Fais by MI were made possible by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. DB gratefully acknowledges support from the Marsden Fund, and the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution. During the course of this research AS was supported by a Postgraduate Scholarship from the University of Auckland and a Fellowship from the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolutio
Nuclear Pore Complex Protein Mediated Nuclear Localization of Dicer Protein in Human Cells
Human DICER1 protein cleaves double-stranded RNA into small sizes, a crucial step in production of single-stranded RNAs which are mediating factors of cytoplasmic RNA interference. Here, we clearly demonstrate that human DICER1 protein localizes not only to the cytoplasm but also to the nucleoplasm. We also find that human DICER1 protein associates with the NUP153 protein, one component of the nuclear pore complex. This association is detected predominantly in the cytoplasm but is also clearly distinguishable at the nuclear periphery. Additional characterization of the NUP153-DICER1 association suggests NUP153 plays a crucial role in the nuclear localization of the DICER1 protein
Correction: Investigating the Global Dispersal of Chickens in Prehistory Using Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Signatures.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039171.]
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Investigating the global dispersal of chickens in prehistory using ancient mitochondrial DNA signatures.
Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing
Investigating the global dispersal of chickens in prehistory using ancient mitochondrial dna signatures
Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian
domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the
reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient
DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the
Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support
for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have
been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating
multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where
chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the
inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to
understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four
hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing
Atoll Archaeology in the Pacific
As islands formed by biogenic agents
(unconsolidated carbonate sediments deposited by
waves on reef platforms), atolls and table reefs, or
low coral islands without lagoons, can be regarded
as especially constraining habitats for human settlement.
The challenges faced by people, both past and
present, include low soil fertility, absence of perennial
surface freshwater, and extreme vulnerability to
flooding by stormsurge and sea-level rise due to low
elevation of the highly fragmented landmass, only a
few meters above mean sea level. There are about
300 atolls and low coral islands in the Pacific and
thousands of individual islets (motu). Several archipelagoes
are dominated by these limestone islands,
such as the Tuamotus, the Central and Eastern Carolines,
the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu.
Because of their small size, limited and at time
fluctuating resources, and relative isolation, atolls
are often perceived as marginal environments.
While some human communities did not endure
(Di Piazza and Pearthree 2001), a remarkable
number were sustainable for centuries, taking
advantage of opportunities many atolls provided
and indicating a long history of resilience to environmental
variability (Fitzpatrick et al. 2016).
Despite these achievements, atolls have received
relatively little coverage by Pacific archaeologist