Current Topics in Genomics – Spring 2019

To be arranged; Dr. McClean’s Office

As humans, we are interested in how we became located where we are on earth.  It has been well established that humans have an Out-of-Africa history.  What has not been fully known is the migration pattern that humans have taken to populate the many locations that we now find ourselves on earth.  Genomics research, primarily based on DNA sequencing is now providing insight into those migration patterns.  Researchers are using “ancient DNA” collected from remains of humans that have been discovered around the globe.  Most recently, reports have described the peopling of the Americas, from Northern Canada through North America and into Central and South America.  Here are the articles you need to read for this session of Current Topics in Genomics, Fall 2018.

The following is a general review article that describes current perspectives on the peopling of the region.  Read this section to gain a general understanding of the current perspectives on peopling of the globe.  Read in more detail the section on the functional variants associating with human migration.

Ancient Genomics of Modern Humans: The First Decade

The following two articles were recently published (Nov 2018) and focus specifically on the migration patterns in the Americas.  First, is a general article published in Science giving an overview of the research findings.

Ancient DNA Tracks Migrations Around Americas

Read the main body of these articles and review the procedures in general.

Early Human Dispersals Within the Americas
Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

Quickly read the following article for the main conclusions regarding the people of the Eurasian Steppes.

137 Ancient Human Genomes from Across the Eurasian Steppes