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Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus

Weyrich LS, Duchene S. and Soubrier J, Arriola L. and Llamas B, Breen J. and Morris AG, Alt K. W. and Caramelli D, Dresely V. and Farrell M, Farrer A. G. and Francken M, Gully N. and Haak W, Hardy K. and Harvati K, Held P. and Holmes EC, Kaidonis J. and Lalueza-Fox C, de la Rasilla M. and Rosas A, Semal P. and Soltysiak A, Townsend G. and Usai D, Wahl J. and Huson DH, Dobney K. and Cooper, A.. (2017) Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus. Nature, 544. pp. 357-361.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/56185/

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Abstract

Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans1, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidrón cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering2, 3. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidrón Neanderthal with a dental abscess4 and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)—the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.
Faculties and Departments:04 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Integrative Biologie > Integrative Prähistorische und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (IPNA Schünemann)
UniBasel Contributors:Alt, Kurt W.
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:0028-0836
e-ISSN:1476-4687
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Identification Number:
Last Modified:16 Oct 2017 06:34
Deposited On:16 Oct 2017 06:34

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