title: Ancient DNA reveals key stages in the formation of central European mitochondrial genetic diversity.
abstract: The processes that shaped modern European mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation remain unclear. The initial peopling by Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers ~42,000 years ago and the immigration of Neolithic farmers into Europe ~8000 years ago appear to have played important roles but do not explain present-day mtDNA diversity. We generated mtDNA profiles of 364 individuals from prehistoric cultures in Central Europe to perform a chronological study, spanning the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (5500 to 1550 calibrated years before the common era). We used this transect through time to identify four marked shifts in genetic composition during the Neolithic period, revealing a key role for Late Neolithic cultures in shaping modern Central European genetic diversity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anthropology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany. brandtg@uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Haak
authors.forename: Christina J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szécsényi-Nagy
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karimnia
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Möller-Rieker
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meller
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ganslmeier
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Friederich
authors.forename: Veit
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dresely
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nicklisch
authors.forename: Joseph K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Pickrell
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sirocko
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Kurt W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Alt
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000266:history; D001483:Base Sequence; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history; D005060:Europe; D040961:Genetic Drift; D014644:Genetic Variation; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011153:Population / Q000235:genetics*; D014171:Transients and Migrants
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial