Ancient DNA May Reveal How the Environment Impacted Past Human Populations

First Posted: May 28, 2015 03:54 PM EDT

Ancient DNA may shed some light on how past environments impacted ancient human populations. Researchers have found that epigenetic marks on DNA can be detected in a large number of ancient human remains.

"By looking at epigenetic marks, we can better understand what genes are expressed during a person's life and how different environmental stresses shaped physical traits and health across generations," said Rick Smith, lead author of the new study, in a news release.

In this latest effort, the researchers looked for an epigenetic mark known as cytosine methylation in the remains of 30 ancient humans for five archaeological sites in North America, ranging in age from 230 to more than 4,500 years old. In all, the researchers recovered methylation in 29 of the samples.

Prior to this effort, cystosine methylation had only been detected in isolated ancient remains-one Neanderthal and one Denisovan from Siberia that were dated between 50,000 and 130,000 years old in addition to other remains at varying ages.

"By studying methylation in ancient DNA from archaeological populations, not just isolated samples, we may gain insights into how past environments affected ancient societies," said Deborah Bolnick, one of the researchers. "Future research in ancient epigenetics should open a new window into the lives and experiences of people who lived long ago."

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.

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TagsDNA, Ancient, Human, prehistoric humans