Dr. Ainash Childebayeva

Dept of Biological Anthropology, University of Kansas

We are hoping that this talk will be both in person and via Zoom.

Title: Population Genetics and Signatures of Selection in Early Neolithic European Farmers

Abstract: Throughout our evolutionary history, humans have encountered different environmental and cultural changes that left a mark in our genomes. One such event is associated with the transition from hunting and gathering to a more sedentary farming lifestyle, also known as the Neolithic transition. In the last ten years, human expansion and migration in the course of the Neolithic transition in western Eurasia has been one of the major topics in ancient DNA research. Studies have shown that the spread of agriculture from the Near East to Europe was associated with a large-scale human migration. The changes in subsistence and lifestyle associated with the Neolithic, and specifically a more sedentary lifestyle, living in larger groups, and the change in the diet, have been hypothesized to involve genetic adaptation as well. I will present genome-wide ancient DNA results from an early Neolithic farming community from Central Germany, together with available published data. The genetic profile of the Neolithic farmers of Europe shows a primarily Anatolian Neolithic-like ancestry with a small degree of admixture with the local hunter-gatherers. Moreover, genetic data show that the Neolithic farmers of Central Germany lived in large communities that did not show strong signatures of either patri- or matrilocality. Increasing the cohort size of the early farmers to almost 100 individuals made it possible to perform frequency- and haplotype-based scans of selection. Based on the results of the test, selection signals in pathways linked to metabolism and immune system especially stood out, suggesting the effect of the cultural transition on the genomes of the early farmers. These findings shed light on the evolutionary pressures, such as infectious disease and changing diet, that were faced by the early farmers of Western Eurasia.

Zoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92826436236?pwd=SytQNTNPSWdwaDNlTm05d2srdXNHUT09

Meeting ID: 928 2643 6236

Passcode: BEC