Doctoral Dissertation Research: Human Population Inferences Via Canine Genetics

狗是最早在美洲广泛分布的驯养动物，它们与人类的长期联系表明，美洲的狗和人类可能是一起迁徙的。该项目将分析来自美洲不同时期和地区的100具狗骨遗骸的DNA。如果该项目证明美洲的狗和人类具有相似的遗传模式，那么狗很可能是美洲人口和迁徙历史的一个很好的代表。考虑到在美洲对人类遗骸进行挖掘和破坏性分析的伦理问题，使用狗作为替代物种将是继续解决人类人口历史研究问题的一种方式，同时也尊重人类遗骸的文化或生物后代的意愿。这个项目的结果将在印第安人基因组学暑期实习（SING）研讨会上发表，这是一个为期一周的研讨会，将有兴趣学习基因研究方法和伦理的印第安人聚集在一起。与伊利诺伊州考古调查局的合作将制作一个虚拟博物馆展览，讨论该项目以及与公众有关的基因和考古数据如何被解释以了解更多关于人类历史的信息。狗葬在美洲很普遍，在人类遗骸无法研究的情况下，对狗的古代DNA分析可以用来推断人类的人口历史和活动。几乎所有对古代狗的研究都集中在线粒体基因组（有丝分裂基因组）的高变区（HVR），作为种群历史的可靠指标存在局限性。对完整的有丝分裂基因组进行测序可以澄清对美洲驯养犬及其进入时间的了解，并且由于下一代测序的低成本，可以使用有丝分裂基因组数据代替HVR数据重新评估先前对美洲狗的分析。研究人员将从广泛的地理和时间跨度中获取狗的遗骸，并对100只狗的有丝分裂基因组进行测序，以与已发表的古代狗（N=3）和狼（N=40）的有丝分裂基因组进行比较，从而评估狗和人类的人口统计学历史是否显示出相似的模式，以及美洲的狗是否来自欧亚或美洲的狼。利用有丝分裂基因组数据澄清这些问题有助于更好地了解美洲的人口及其人口历史，以及美洲狗的起源。

Dogs were the first domesticated animal to be widely distributed through the Americas, and their long association with humans suggests that dogs and humans in the Americas may have migrated together. This project will analyze DNA from 100 skeletal dog remains from a wide variety of time periods and regions of the Americas. If the project demonstrates that dogs and humans in the Americas have similar genetic patterns, it is likely that dogs are a good proxy for human population and migration history in the Americas. Given the ethical concerns of excavating and performing destructive analysis on human remains in the Americas, using dogs as a substitute species would be a way to continue to address research questions about human population history while also being respectful of the wishes of the cultural or biological descendants of the human remains. Results from this project will be presented at the Summer Internship for Native Americans in Genomics (SING) workshop, a week-long workshop that brings together Native Americans who are interested in learning about the methods and ethics involved in genetic research. A partnership with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey will produce a virtual museum exhibit that discusses the project as well as relates to the public how genetic and archaeological data can be interpreted to learn more about human history.Dog burials are widespread across the Americas, and ancient DNA analysis of dogs can be used to infer human population history and movements in cases where human remains are unavailable to study. Nearly all studies of ancient dogs have focused on the hypervariable region (HVR) of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome), which has limitations as a reliable indicator of population history. Sequencing the complete mitogenome can clarify understanding of domesticated dogs in the Americas and their time of entry, and with the low cost of next-generation sequencing it is possible to reassess previous analyses of dogs in the Americas using mitogenome data in the place of HVR data. With access to dog remains from a broad geographic and temporal span, and an aim to sequence 100 dog mitogenomes to compare to published ancient dog (N=3) and wolf (N=40) mitogenomes, the investigators will assess whether dog and human demographic histories show similar patterns, and if dogs in the Americas derive from Eurasian or American wolves. Clarification of these points using mitogenome data contributes to a better understanding of human populations in the Americas and their demographic history, as well as the origins of dogs in the Americas.