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28.6: Tools and Techniques

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    41130
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    Techniques for Studying Population Relationships

    There are several different methods for studying population relationships with genetic data. The first general type of study utilizes both phylogeny and migration data. It fits the phylogenies to Fst values, values of sub-population heterozygosity (pioneered by Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards in 1967 [? ]). This method also makes use of synthetic maps and Principal Components Analysis. [2] The primary downside to analyzing population data this way is uncertainty about results. There are mathematical and edge effects in the data processing that cannot be predicted. Also, certain groups have shown that separate, bounded mixing populations can produce significant-seeming principal components by chance. Even if the results of the study are correct, then, they are also uncertain.

    The second method of analyzing sub-population relationships is genetic clustering. Clusters can be formed using self-defined ancestry [1] or the STRUCTURE database. [3] This method is overused and can over-fit the data; the composition of the database can bias the clustering results.

    Technological advances and increased data collection, though, have produced data sets that are 10,000 times larger than before, meaning that most specific claims can be disproved by some subset of data. So in effect, many models that are predicted either by phylogeny and migration or genetic clustering will be disproved at some point, leading to large-scale confusion of results. One solution to this problem is to use a simple model that makes a statement that is both useful and has less probability of being falsified.

    Extracting DNA from Neanderthal Bones

    Lets take a look at how you go about finding and sequencing DNA from ancient remains. First, you have to obtain a bone sample with DNA from a Neanderthal. Human DNA and Neanderthal DNA is very similar (we are more similar to them than we are to chimps), so when sequencing short reads with very old DNA, it is impossible to tell if the DNA is Neanderthal or human. The cave where the bones were found is first classified as human or non-human using trash or tools as an identifier, which helps predict the origin of the bones. Even if you have a bone, it is still very unlikely that you have any salvageable DNA. In fact, 99% of the sequence of Neanderthals comes from only three long bones found in one site: the Vindija cave in Croatia (5.3 Gb, 1.3x full coverage).

    Next, the DNA is sent to an ancient-DNA lab. Since they are 40,000 year old bones, there is very little DNA left in them. So, they are first screened for DNA. If they find DNA, the next question is whether it is primate DNA? Usually it is DNA from microbes and fungi that live in soil and digest dead organisms. Only about 1-10% of the DNA on old bones is the primates DNA. If it is primate DNA, is it contamination from the human (archeologist or lab tech) handling it? Only one out of 600 bp are di↵erent between humans and Neanderthals DNA. The size of reads from a 40,000 year old bone sample is 30-40 bp. The reads are almost always identical for a human and Neanderthal, so it is difficult to distinguish them.

    In one instance, 89 DNA extracts were screened for Neanderthals DNA, but only 6 bones were actually sequenced (requires lack of contamination and high enough amount of DNA). The process of retrieving the DNA requires drilling beneath the bone surface (to minimize contamination) and taking samples from within. For the three long bones, less than 1 gram of bone powder was able to be obtained. Then the DNA is sequenced and aligned to a reference chimp genome. It is mapped to a chimp instead of a particular human because mapping to a human might cause bias if you are looking to see how the sequence relates to specific human sub-populations.

    Most successful finds have been in cool limestone caves, where it is dry and cold and perhaps a bit basic. The best chance of preservation occurs in permafrost areas. Very little DNA is recoverable from the tropics. The tropics have a great fossil record, but DNA is much harder to obtain. Since most bones don't yield enough or good DNA, scientists have the screen samples over and over again until they eventually find a good one.

    Reassembling Ancient DNA

    DNA extracted from Neanderthal bones have short reads, about 37 bp on average. There are lots of holes due to mutations caused by time eroding the DNA. It is difficult to tell whether a sequence is the result of contamination because humans and Neanderthals only differ in one out of one thousand bases. However, we can use DNA damage characteristic of ancient DNA to distinguish old and new DNA. Old DNA has a tendency towards C to T and G to A errors. The C to T error is by far the most common, and is seen about 2% of the time. Over time, a methyl group gets knocked off of a C, which causes it to resemble to U. When PCR is used to amplify the DNA for sequencing, the polymerase sees a U and repairs it to a T. In order to combat this error, scientists use a special enzyme that recognizes the U, and cuts the strand instead of replacing it with a T. This helps to identify those sites. The G to A mutations are the result of seeing that on the opposite strand.

    The average fragment size is quite small, and the error rate is still 0.1% - 0.3%. One way to combat the mutations is to note that on a double stranded fragment, the DNA is frayed towards the ends, where it becomes single stranded for about 10 bp. There tend to be high rates of mutations in the first and last 10 bases, but high quality DNA elsewhere, i.e. more C to T mutations in the beginning and G to A in the end. In chimps, the most common mutations are transitions (purine to purine, pyrimidine to pyrimidine), and transversions are much rarer. The same goes for humans. Since the G to A and C to T mutations are transitions, it can be determined that there are about 4x more mutations in the old Neanderthal DNA than if it were fresh by noting the number of transitions seen compared to the number of transversions seen (by comparing Neanderthal to human DNA). Transversions have a fairly stable rate of occurrence, so that ratio helps determine how much error has occurred through C to T mutations.

    We are now able to get human contamination of artifact DNA down to around \(\text{i} 1 \%\). When the DNA is brought in, as soon as it is removed from the bone it is bar coded with a 7 bp tag. That tag allows you to avoid contamination at any later point in the experiment, but not earlier. Extraction is also done in a clean room with UV light, after having washed the bone. Mitochondrial DNA is helpful for distinguishing what percent of the sample is contaminated with human DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is filled with characteristic event sites because humans and Neanderthals are reciprocally monophylogenetic. The contamination can be measured by counting the ratio of those sites. In the Neanderthal DNA, contamination was present, but it was \(\text { ¡ } 0.5 \%\).

    In sequencing, the error rate is almost always higher than the polymorphism rate. Therefore, most sites in the sequence that are different from humans are caused by sequencing errors. So we cant exactly learn about Neanderthal biology through the sequence generated, but we can analyze particular SNPs as long as we know where to look. The probability of a particular SNP being changed due to an error in sequencing is only \(\frac{1}{300}\) to 11000, so usable data can still be obtained.

    After aligning the chimp, Neanderthal, and modern human sequences, we can measure the distance from Neanderthals to humans and chimps. This distance is only about 12.7% from the human reference sequence. A French sample measures about 8% distance from the reference sequence, and a Bushman about 10.3%. What this says is that the Neanderthal DNA is within our range of variation as a species.


    28.6: Tools and Techniques is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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