2012/03/23 by Veronica Nyström, JOANNE HUMPHREY, Pontus Skoglund +9 · 45 citations
Arts and Humanities · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Allele #Ancient DNA #Biology #Demographic history #Demography #Effective population size #Evolutionary biology #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genetic diversity #Genetic diversity and population structure #Genetic variation #Genetics #Genotype #Genotyping #Microsatellite #Mitochondrial DNA #Paleontology #Paleopathology and ancient diseases #Pleistocene #Population
paper · open access · doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2012.05525.x
published in Molecular Ecology 21(14), 3391-3402 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2012/03/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The last glaciation was a dynamic period with strong impact on the demography of many species and populations. In recent years, mitochondrial DNA sequences retrieved from radiocarbon-dated remains have provided novel insights into the history of Late Pleistocene populations. However, genotyping of loci from the nuclear genome may provide enhanced resolution of population-level changes. Here, we use four autosomal microsatellite DNA markers to investigate the demographic history of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) in north-eastern Siberia from before 60 000 years ago up until the species' final disappearance c.4000 years ago. We identified two genetic groups, implying a marked temporal genetic differentiation between samples with radiocarbon ages older than 12 thousand radiocarbon years before present (ka) and those younger than 9ka. Simulation-based analysis indicates that this dramatic change in genetic composition, which included a decrease in individual heterozygosity of approximately 30%, was due to a multifold reduction in effective population size. A corresponding reduction in genetic variation was also detected in the mitochondrial DNA, where about 65% of the diversity was lost. We observed no further loss in genetic variation during the Holocene, which suggests a rapid final extinction event.