Papers by Erika Hagelberg
Electrophoresis, 1997
DNA typing techniques are among the most advanced tools for human identification and can contribu... more DNA typing techniques are among the most advanced tools for human identification and can contribute to the identification of poorly preserved skeletal remains. Ten thousand people are thought to have been killed during the last dictatorship in Argentina (1976Argentina ( -1983 and there are few official records on the identity of the victims or the location of burials. A mass grave containing 340 skeletons was excavated using archeological methods. A small number of individuals was identified by traditional forensic methods and one family group by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. Due to the lack of antemortem physical information on many of the victims, the application of molecular methods is imperative to speed up the identification process. We have tested two molecular screening methods, Y chromosome-specific short tandem repeats (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 I, DYS389 11, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393) and amplification of autosomal microsatellites using nested primers. These methods can complement solely matrilineal mtDNA sequence data in the identification of "missing" persons.
En este trabajo se presenta la secuencia completa de ADN mitocondrial, obtenida a partir de resto... more En este trabajo se presenta la secuencia completa de ADN mitocondrial, obtenida a partir de restos óseos de un hombre adulto, hallado en el sitio Cañadón Misioneros (provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina), con una antigüedad de 70 ± 30 años antes del presente. La secuencia corresponde al haplogrupo (hg) D4h3a5, nativo de América y exclusivo del sur de Patagonia, donde ha sido descripto tanto en muestras antiguas como actuales. Esta secuencia constituye el primer dato de ADN mitocondrial en la costa atlántica de Patagonia con la resolución suficiente para definir a nivel de subhaplogrupo.
Se discuten las implicancias en cuanto a los vínculos biológicos de las poblaciones que habitaron esa porción del espacio patagónico en el marco de la información genética y arqueológica disponible.
Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 2005
Now that the hype surrounding Jurassic Park has settled down and we have become relatively used t... more Now that the hype surrounding Jurassic Park has settled down and we have become relatively used to dramatic headlines announcing the recovery of DNA from exotic fossilized remains, scientists working on ancient DNA are beginning to reflect on the long-term prospects and implications of the subject.' The science of ancient DNA has grown exponentially since its birth only ten years ago, and despite serious technical difficulties, it promises to become a revolutionary research tool in anthropology and molecular evolution. The use of bone DNAtyping in particular has already yielded useful insights into Polynesian prehistory as well as spectacular applications in the forensic identification of skeletal remains.
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2013
Background: The West Liao River valley in Northeast China is an ecologically diverse region, popu... more Background: The West Liao River valley in Northeast China is an ecologically diverse region, populated in prehistory by human populations with a wide range of cultures and modes of subsistence. To help understand the human evolutionary history of this region, we performed Y chromosome analyses on ancient human remains from archaeological sites ranging in age from 6500 to 2700 BP.
Nature, Aug 1, 1991
THERE is considerable anthropological and forensic interest in the possibility of DNA typing skel... more THERE is considerable anthropological and forensic interest in the possibility of DNA typing skeletal remains. Trace amounts of DNA can be recovered even from 5,500-year-old bones and multicopy human mitochondrial DNA sequences can frequently be amplified from such DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)1,2. But given the sensitivity of PCR, it is very difficult to exclude contaminating material. We now report the successful identification of the 8-year-old skeletal remains of a murder victim, by comparative typing of nuclear microsatellite markers3-5 in the remains and in the presumptive parents of the victim. This analysis establishes the authenticity of the bone DNA and the feasibility of bone DNA typing in forensic investigations.
The Journal of experimental zoology, Jan 15, 2000
DNA was extracted from teeth and bones of Myotragus balearicus, a bovid that evolved in isolation... more DNA was extracted from teeth and bones of Myotragus balearicus, a bovid that evolved in isolation on the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean) from the end of the Miocene, becoming extinct 4,000 years BP, after the arrival of humans in the islands. The numerous morphological apomorphies of Myotragus, most strikingly its dwarfism, frontal eyes, and ever-growing incisors, obscure its phylogenetic relationships with extant bovids. Therefore, the recovery of genetic information from Myotragus is of significant interest to help clarify the taxonomic position of this species. In this study we amplified and sequenced a 95 bp (base pair) fragment of the mtDNA cytochrome b gene from 6,000-year-old specimens of Myotragus. Several experimental controls, such as amino acid analysis, independent reproduction in two different laboratories, and cloning of the PCR product, support the authenticity of the ancient DNA sequence recovered. Phylogenetic comparison with orthologous sequences from supp...
The Journal of general virology, 1998
To investigate the origin and dissemination of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I in Latin Am... more To investigate the origin and dissemination of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I in Latin America, we performed phylogenetic analysis on the LTR and env sequences of 13 HTLV-I isolates from Peruvians of four different ethnic groups: blacks and some mulattos of African origin; Quechuas of Inca origin; Nikkei of Japanese descendance; and Mestizos, a mixed population of white and Indian origin. All Peruvian samples could be situated within the cosmopolitan subtype HTLV-Ia, yet one sample showed an indeterminate Western blot pattern, lacking reactivity towards the HTLV-I type specific MTA1 peptide. Within the LTR, we could confirm the previously reported subdivision into four subgroups--one big transcontinental clade A, a Japanese clade B, a West African/Caribbean clade C and a North African clade D--and we identified a new separate subgroup E of black Peruvian strains. The clustering of the Peruvian samples seemed to depend on the ethnic origin of the host. The largest heterogenei...
Trends in Cell Biology, 1993
Tissue Antigens, 2007
Most archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest a Polynesian origin of the population of East... more Most archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest a Polynesian origin of the population of Easter Island (Rapanui), and this view has been supported by the identification of Polynesian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms in prehistoric skeletal remains. However, some evidence of an early South American contact also exists (the sweet potato, bottle gourd etc.), but genetic studies have so far failed to show an early Amerindian contribution to the gene pool on Easter Island. To address this issue, we analyzed mtDNA and Y chromosome markers and performed high-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping of DNA harvested from previously collected sera of 48 reputedly nonadmixed native Easter Islanders. All individuals carried mtDNA types and HLA alleles previously found in Polynesia, and most men carried Y chromosome markers of Polynesian origin, providing further evidence of a Polynesian origin of the population of Easter Island. A few individuals carried HLA alleles and/or Y chromosome markers of European origin. More interestingly, some individuals carried the HLA alleles A*0212 and B*3905, which are of typical Amerindian origin. The genealogy of some of the individuals carrying these non-Polynesian HLA alleles and their haplotypic backgrounds suggest an introduction into Easter Island in the early 1800s, or earlier. Thus, there may have been an early European and Amerindian contribution to the Polynesian gene pool of Easter Island.
Science, 2004
CITATIONS 5 READS 36 4 authors: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these... more CITATIONS 5 READS 36 4 authors: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Evolutionary and population history investigation of the Pleistocene--Holocene giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoluca) via whole paleogenome sequencing View project
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1991
DNA was extracted from human and animal bones recovered from archaeological sites and mitochondri... more DNA was extracted from human and animal bones recovered from archaeological sites and mitochondrial DNA sequences were amplified from the extracts using the polymerase chain reaction. Evidence is presented that the amplified sequences are authentic and do not represent contamination by extraneous DNA. The results show that significant amounts of genetic information can survive for long periods in bone, and have important implications for evolutionary genetics, anthropology and forensic science.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1993
A previously characterized Asian-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) length mutation has been dete... more A previously characterized Asian-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) length mutation has been detected in DNA isolated from prehistoric human bones from Polynesia, including Hawaii, Chatham Islands and Society Islands. In contrast, the Asian mutation was absent in skeletal samples from the Melanesian archipelagos of New Britain and Vanuatu and in the oldest samples from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in the central Pacific (2700-1600 years BP) although it was present in a more recent prehistoric sample from Tonga. These results, augmented by informative DNA sequence data from the hypervariable region of mtDNA, fail to support current views that the central Pacific was settled directly by voyagers from island Southeast Asia, the putative ancestors of modern Polynesians. An earlier occupation by peoples from the neighbouring Melanesian archipelagos seems more likely.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1997
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region polymorphisms in 28 Carib people of Belize, ... more Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region polymorphisms in 28 Carib people of Belize, former British Honduras, revealed high levels of genetic admixture with West African populations. A previously characterized length mutation consisting of a deletion of nine base pairs in an intergenic mtDNA region was observed in two of the individuals. Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA control region sequences associated with the mutation suggested that it arose independently in different geographical locations. Whereas in one individual the deletion reflects the Amerindian ancestry of the Caribs, in the second case it seems to be of African origin, as it occurred in conjunction with an mtDNA type found in sub-Saharan Africa. Our results agree with historical accounts on the origins of the Caribs of Belize.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1999
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis has proved useful in studies of recent human evolution and the... more Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis has proved useful in studies of recent human evolution and the genetic affinities of human groups of different geographical regions. As part of an extensive survey of mtDNA diversity in present-day Pacific populations, we obtained sequence information of the hypervariable mtDNA control region of 452 individuals from various localities in the western Pacific. The mtDNA types fell into three major groups which reflect the settlement history of the area. Interestingly, we detected an extremely rare point mutation at high frequency in the small island of Nguna in the Melanesian archipelago of Vanuatu. Phylogenetic analysis of the mtDNA data indicated that the mutation was present in individuals of separate mtDNA lineages. We propose that the multiple occurrence of a rare mutation event in one isolated locality is highly improbable, and that recombination between different mtDNA types is a more likely explanation for our observation. If correct, this conclusion has important implications for the use of mtDNA in phylogenetic and evolutionary studies.
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Papers by Erika Hagelberg
Se discuten las implicancias en cuanto a los vínculos biológicos de las poblaciones que habitaron esa porción del espacio patagónico en el marco de la información genética y arqueológica disponible.
Se discuten las implicancias en cuanto a los vínculos biológicos de las poblaciones que habitaron esa porción del espacio patagónico en el marco de la información genética y arqueológica disponible.