Ancient DNA microsatellite analyses of the extinct New Zealand giant moa (Dinornis robustus) identify relatives within a single fossil site

Abstract

By analysing ancient DNA (aDNA) from 74 14 C-dated individuals of the extinct South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) of New Zealand, we identified four dyads of closely related adult females. Although our total sample included bones from four fossil deposits located within a 10 km radius, these eight individuals had all been excavated from the same locality. Indications of kinship were based on high pairwise genetic relatedness (r XY ) in six microsatellite markers genotyped from aDNA, coupled with overlapping radiocarbon ages. The observed r XY values in the four dyads exceeded a conservative cutoff value for potential relatives obtained from simulated data. In three of the four dyads, the kinship was further supported by observing shared and rare mitochondrial haplotypes. Simulations demonstrated that the proportion of observed dyads above the cutoff value was at least 20 times higher than expected in a randomly mating population with temporal sampling, also when introducing population structure in the simulations. We conclude that the results must reflect social structure in the moa population and we discuss the implications for future aDNA research.

Ancient DNA reveals differences in behaviour and sociality between brown bears and extinct cave bears

“…Wallace et al 2011). Although ancient DNA provides the potential to investigate such behavioural patterns in species that have already gone extinct, behavioural inferences based on ancient DNA have been rare (notable examples are Huynen et al 2010;and Allentoft et al 2015). Our study clearly demonstrates the potential utility of ancient DNA in the study of behavioural ecology by revealing evidence of homing behaviour in extinct cave bears, and furthermore, through comparison with a closely related extant species, we have also uncovered clues on the potential causes of cave bear extinction.…”

“…; and Allentoft et al . ). Our study clearly demonstrates the potential utility of ancient DNA in the study of behavioural ecology by revealing evidence of homing behaviour in extinct cave bears, and furthermore, through comparison with a closely related extant species, we have also uncovered clues on the potential causes of cave bear extinction.…”

Dissimilarity of individual microsatellite profiles under different mutation models: Empirical approach

“…Microsatellites are also special among molecular markers in that their repeat structure provides information on the relatedness of alleles. These intrinsic properties of microsatellites make them very powerful for population genetic studies and advocate for their use in the future (Allentoft, Heller, Holdaway, & Bunce, ; Chen, Lu, Zhu, Tamaki, & Qiu, ; Dufresne, Stift, Vergilino, & Mable, ; Nybom, Weising, & Rotter, ; Putman & Carbone, ) despite extensive application of more recent marker‐rich techniques based on next generation sequencing data.…”

Comparative Study of Different Methods of Dna Extraction From Cattle Bones Specimens Maintained in a Craniological Collection

“…Небольшая длина сохранившихся целевых фрагментов может быть существенным ограничением для анализа микросателлитов с большей длиной фрагментов (200 п.н. и более) (41,42). Для однозначной интерпретации полученных профилей в ряде работ (42,43) рекомендуется проводить амплификацию каждого образца не менее трех раз.…”

“…и более) (41,42). Для однозначной интерпретации полученных профилей в ряде работ (42,43) рекомендуется проводить амплификацию каждого образца не менее трех раз. SNP маркеры менее требовательны к степени деградации ДНК.…”