Starting from specimens of the intestinal content of the so-called Tyrolean Iceman or Ötzi (5350-5100 years before present), it was possible to PCR amplify fragments of the human mtDNA control region that correspond to the sequence found in 1994 at the Munich and Oxford laboratories and which had been attributed to the original DNA of the mummy. The particularly favorable condition of the specimens, showing very low contamination levels, made it easier to extend the analyses to the coding region which had not been previously considered. The mtDNA of the European population is currently divided into 9 (H, T, U, V, W, X, I, J, K) main groups (haplogroups). The K haplogroup, in particular, is composed by two (K1 and K2) subclusters. The results demonstrate that the Iceman’s mtDNA belongs to the K1 subcluster, yet it does not fit any of the three known branches (a, b, c) into which the K1 subcluster is presently divided. In addition, some other sites, reported to be linked to environmental adaptation or pathologies, were investigated.
Rollo F., Ermini L., Luciani S., Marota I., Olivieri C., Luiselli D. (2006). Fine characterizationof the Iceman’s mtDNA haplogroup. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 130 (4), 557-564.
Fine characterizationof the Iceman’s mtDNA haplogroup
LUISELLI, DONATA
2006
Abstract
Starting from specimens of the intestinal content of the so-called Tyrolean Iceman or Ötzi (5350-5100 years before present), it was possible to PCR amplify fragments of the human mtDNA control region that correspond to the sequence found in 1994 at the Munich and Oxford laboratories and which had been attributed to the original DNA of the mummy. The particularly favorable condition of the specimens, showing very low contamination levels, made it easier to extend the analyses to the coding region which had not been previously considered. The mtDNA of the European population is currently divided into 9 (H, T, U, V, W, X, I, J, K) main groups (haplogroups). The K haplogroup, in particular, is composed by two (K1 and K2) subclusters. The results demonstrate that the Iceman’s mtDNA belongs to the K1 subcluster, yet it does not fit any of the three known branches (a, b, c) into which the K1 subcluster is presently divided. In addition, some other sites, reported to be linked to environmental adaptation or pathologies, were investigated.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
