Ancient DNA traces the history of hepatitis B Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections represent a worldwide human health concern. To study the history of this pathogen, Kocher et al . identified 137 human remains with detectable levels of virus dating between 400 and 10,000 years ago. Sequencing and analyses of these ancient viruses suggested a common ancestor between 12,000 and 20,000 years ago. There is no evidence indicating that HBV was present in the earliest humans as they spread out of Africa; however, HBV was likely present in human populations before farming. Furthermore, the virus was present in the Americas by about 9000 years ago, representing a lineage sister to the viral strains found in Eurasia that diverged about 20,000 years ago. —LMZ

Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focused on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (∼ 5500-3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (∼ 3000-2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (∼ 2200-1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character.

Nuestro equipo de investigación comenzó sus trabajos en la década de los años 90 en un rincón de la provincia de Soria que antes nadie hubiese pensado podría tener importancia alguna en el panorama de la investigación del Neolítico peninsular. Junto a la excavación y publicación de yacimientos tan importantes como la segoviana

Domestication events in livestock can be studied by comparing modern DNA with ancient DNA (aDNA) from archaeological faunal remains. Investigating the phylogeny history of sheep remains from the Neolithic Spanish site of Cova de Els Trocs, provides an opportunity to gain some insights about their origins. In this work, aDNA recovered from 15 ovine specimens dated between 6000 to 4000 years BP were sequenced by whole genome sequencing (WGS), and mapped against the O. aries modern mitogenome. Complete mitogenomes were restored for 12 ancient samples. Bayesian Inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees fitting the HKY+G+I model were performed including the mitogenomes of 12 ancient and 74 modern sheep and 4 wild species. All Neolithic samples belong to the mitochondrial haplotype B. Four ancient sheep constituted a clade (89%) with the Viena sheep breed (Karelia), suggesting a complex demographic history of their origins.

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