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The warrior woman has long been part of the Viking image, with a pedigree that extends from the Valkyries of Old Norse prose and poetry to modern media entertainment. Until [...]

We report five new complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genomes of Siberian woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), sequenced with up to 73-fold coverage from DNA extracted from hair shaft material. Three of the sequences present the first complete mtDNA genomes of mammoth clade II. Analysis of these and 13 recently published mtDNA genomes demonstrates the existence of two apparently sympatric mtDNA clades that exhibit high interclade divergence. The analytical power afforded by the analysis of the complete mtDNA genomes reveals a surprisingly ancient coalescence age of the two clades, [approximately equal to]1-2 million years, depending on the calibration technique. Furthermore, statistical analysis of the temporal distribution of the [sup.14]C ages of these and previously identified members of the two mammoth clades suggests that clade II went extinct before clade I. Modeling of protein structures failed to indicate any important functional difference between genomes belonging to the two clades, suggesting that the loss of clade II more likely is due to genetic drift than a selective sweep. mtDNA genome | phylogeny | ancient DNA | next-generation sequencing

The endangered brown bear populations (Ursus arctos) in Iberia have been suggested to be the last fragments of the brown bear population that served as recolonization stock for large parts of Europe during the Pleistocene. Conservation efforts are intense, and results are closely monitored. However, the efforts are based on the assumption that the Iberian bears are a unique unit that has evolved locally for an extended period. We have sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from ancient Iberian bear remains and analyzed them as a serial dataset, monitoring changes in diversity and occurrence of European haplogroups over time. Using these data, we show that the Iberian bear population has experienced a dynamic, recent evolutionary history. Not only has the population undergone mitochondrial gene flow from other European brown bears, but the effective population size also has fluctuated substantially. We conclude that the Iberian bear population has been a fluid evolutionary unit, developed by gene flow from other populations and population bottlenecks, far from being in genetic equilibrium or isolated from other brown bear populations. Thus, the current situation is highly unusual and the population may in fact be isolated for the first time in its history. bottleneck | gene flow | mitochondrial DNA | ancient DNA | serial coalescent simulations

How species respond to an increased availability of habitat, for example at the end of the last glaciation, has been well established. In contrast, little is known about the opposite process, when the amount of habitat decreases. The hypothesis of habitat tracking predicts that species should be able to track both increases and decreases in habitat availability. The alternative hypothesis is that populations outside refugia become extinct during periods of unsuitable climate. To test these hypotheses, we used ancient DNA techniques to examine genetic variation in the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) through an expansion/contraction cycle. The results show that the arctic fox in midlatitude Europe became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene and did not track the habitat when it shifted to the north. Instead, a high genetic similarity between the extant populations in Scandinavia and Siberia suggests an eastern origin for the Scandinavian population at the end of the last glaciation. These results provide new insights into how species respond to climate change, since they suggest that populations are unable to track decreases in habitat avaliability. This implies that arctic species may be particularly vulnerable to increases in global temperatures. climate change | evolutionary stasis | extinction | phylogeography | postglacial recolonization

The geographic situation of the Iberian Peninsula makes it a natural link between Europe and North Africa. However, it is a matter of debate to what extent African influences via the Straits Gibraltar have affected Iberia's prehistoric development. Because early African pastoralist communities were dedicated to cattle breeding, a possible means to detect prehistoric African-Iberian contacts might be to analyze the origin of cattle breeds on the Iberian Peninsula. Some contemporary Iberian cattle breeds show a mtDNA haplotype, T1, that is characteristic to African breeds, generally explained as being the result of the Muslim expansion of the 8th century A.D., and of modern imports. To test a possible earlier African influence, we analyzed mtDNA of Bronze Age cattle from the Portalon cave at the Atapuerca site in northern Spain. Although the majority of samples showed the haplotype T3 that dominates among European breeds of today, the T1 haplotype was found in one specimen radiocarbon dated 1800 calibrated years B.C. Accepting T1 as being of African origin, this result indicates prehistoric African-Iberian contacts and lends support to archaeological finds linking early African and Iberian cultures. We also found a wild ox haplotype in the Iberian Bronze Age sample, reflecting local hybridization or backcrossing or that aurochs were hunted by these farming cultures. ancient DNA | aurochs | Iberian cattle | mithochondrial DNA | Africa

Introduction The transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in Europe is an enigmatic event. Viewed as a change from hunting and gathering to farming, it has inspired many researchers, [...]

Author(s): Igor V. Ovchinnikov [1, 2, 3]; Anders Götherström [4]; Galina P. Romanova; Vitaliy M. Kharitonov [6]; Kerstin Lidén [4]; William Goodwin [1] The expansion of premodern humans into western [...]

IN OUR STUDY OF THE ORIGINS OF DOMESTIC horses, published in 1998, my colleagues and I examined sequence data of the mitochondrial DNA control region from 29 individuals, including Przewalski's [...]

Domestication entails control of wild species and is generally regarded as a complex process confined to a restricted area and culture. Previous DNA sequence analyses of several domestic species have suggested only a limited number of origination events. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences of 191 domestic horses and found a high diversity of matrilines. Sequence analysis of equids from archaeological sites and late Pleistocene deposits showed that this diversity was not due to an accelerated mutation rate or an ancient domestication event. Consequently, high mtDNA sequence diversity of horses implies an unprecedented and widespread integration of matrilines and an extensive utilization and taming of wild horses. However, genetic variation at nuclear markers is partitioned among horse breeds and may reflect sex-biased dispersal and breeding., The domestication of the horse has profoundly affected the course of civilization. Horses provided meat, milk, and enhanced transportation and warfare capabilities that led to the spread of Indo-European languages [...]

Author(s): Igor V. Ovchinnikov [1, 2, 3]; Anders Götherström [4]; Galina P. Romanova [5]; Vitaliy M. Kharitonov [6]; Kerstin Lidén [4]; William Goodwin (corresponding author) [1] Ovchinnikov et al. reply [...]

Calculates the thermal history of a range of Holocene and Pleistocene bones with tested DNA quality. Discovery that in only very few sites with Neanderthal remains is the preservation of DNA likely to match the quality of that from the skeleton found at Mezmaiskaya Cave; Recommendation that further destructive analysis of Neanderthal remains should be considered carefully; Response of other scientists discussing the correlation between DNA survival and thermal history; Response to the research.