A study conduct by researchers from The University of Texas, Austin and the University of California, Los Angeles, has given significant insights into how ancient European populations adapt to their environments over 7,000 years.
Publish in Nature Communications, the research utilise ancient DNA from skeletal remains, applying advance statistical techniques to detect genetic changes that are absent in modern populations.
The analysis span historical periods from the Neolithic to the late Roman era, examining over 700 samples source from archaeological sites across Europe and parts of modern Russia.
Lead researcher Vagheesh Narasimhan, Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology and Statistics at UT Austin, highlight the significance of the study, stating that ancient DNA provides a direct glimpse into historical populations, bypassing the limitations of modern genetic analyses.
Subtle genetic adaptations, often obscure by recombination or population mixing in contemporary genomes, were reveal through the study’s novel methodology.
The findings identified 14 key genomic regions subject to significant natural selection across different time periods.
Traits associate with vitamin D synthesis and lactose tolerance were among those that became prominent during later eras.
These adaptations likely play a crucial role in aiding survival in less sunny climates and during periods of food scarcity when dairy products became a vital nutrition source.
Selective pressures on immune-related genes were also observe, particularly as populations face new diseases with the advent of agriculture and societal changes.
But, nearly half of the adaptive signals detect in the earliest periods were find to have vanish over time due to factors such as genetic drift or inter-population mixing.
The research sheds light on how environmental challenges shape human evolution and the eventual disappearance of once-advantageous traits.
By studying ancient DNA, the historical dynamics of human adaptation are being piece together, offering a clearer picture of our evolutionary past.
