Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: Implications for Pre-Hispanic Animal Trade and the Timing of Turkey Domestication

Late Preclassic (300 BC–AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the ancient Maya world. Archaeological, zooarchaeological, and ancient DNA evidence combine to confirm the identification and context. The natural pre-Hispanic range of the Mexican turkey does not extend south of central Mexico, making the species non-local to the Maya area where another species, the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata), is indigenous. Prior to this discovery, the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo in the Maya area dated to approximately one thousand years later. The El Mirador specimens therefore represent previously unrecorded Preclassic exchange of animals from northern Mesoamerica to the Maya cultural region. As the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo found outside its natural geographic range, the El Mirador turkeys also represent the earliest indirect evidence for Mesoamerican turkey rearing or domestication. The presence of male, female and sub-adult turkeys, and reduced flight morphology further suggests that the El Mirador turkeys were raised in captivity. This supports an argument for the origins of turkey husbandry or at least captive rearing in the Preclassic

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Archaeological turkey (•) osteometrics compared with mean (±2 standard deviations) <i>M. gallopavo</i> (male ▪, female ▴); and <i>M. ocellata</i> (male □, female ▵) [<b>6</b>].

<p>Archaeological turkey (•) osteometrics compared with mean (±2 standard deviations) <i>M. gallopavo</i> (male ▪, female ▴); and <i>M. ocellata</i> (male □, female ▵) <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0042630#pone.0042630-Steadman1" target="_blank">[<b>6</b>]</a>.</p

Provenience dates and zooarchaeological, aDNA and osteometric identifications of the El Mirador turkey specimens.

a<p>AMS dates from zooarchaeological specimens found in association with the turkey bones (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0042630#pone.0042630.s007" target="_blank">Table S2</a>).</p>b<p>aDNA identification was confirmed through repeat extractions and amplification.</p

Archaeological turkey specimens compared with modern <i>M. gallopavo</i> and <i>M. ocellata</i>: A) right ulnae, and B) left tarsometatarsi.

<p>Archaeological turkey specimens compared with modern <i>M. gallopavo</i> and <i>M. ocellata</i>: A) right ulnae, and B) left tarsometatarsi.</p

Pre-Hispanic range of <i>M. ocellata</i> and <i>M. gallopavo</i>[<b>2]</b>, [6] in Mesoamerica, and location of discussed archaeological sites.

<p>Pre-Hispanic range of <i>M. ocellata</i> and <i>M. gallopavo</i><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0042630#pone.0042630-Schorger1" target="_blank">[<b>2]</b></a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0042630#pone.0042630-Steadman1" target="_blank">[6]</a> in Mesoamerica, and location of discussed archaeological sites.</p

El Tigre Complex showing structures containing turkey bones (circled). Redrawn from original by B. Dahlin.

<p>El Tigre Complex showing structures containing turkey bones (circled). Redrawn from original by B. Dahlin.</p