Biology subjects

Speller, C. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Speller, C. F..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

An efficient pipeline for creating metagenomic-assembled genomes from ancient oral microbiomes

Metagenomic-assembled genomes (MAGs) are difficult to recover from ancient DNA (aDNA) due to substantial fragmentation, degradation, and multi-source contamination. These complexities associated with aDNA raise concerns about whether bioinformatic tools intended for interpreting modern DNA are suitable for reconstructing ancient MAGs. Using simulated modern and ancient data, we investigated: 1) how using binning tools designed for modern DNA affects our ability to effectively construct MAGs from ancient genomes; 2) the performance of three different binning tools for aDNA samples; and 3) whether a one size fits all approach is suitable for ancient metagenomics. We established that binning tools for modern DNA performed efficiently on simulated modern and ancient DNA. When applied to real archaeological DNA spanning 5000 years, we retrieve high-confidence MAGs in most cases.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

An extensive archaeological dental calculus dataset spanning 5000 years for ancient human oral microbiome research

Archaeological dental calculus can provide detailed insights into the ancient human oral microbiome. We offer a multi-period, multi-site, ancient shotgun metagenomic dataset consisting of 174 samples obtained primarily from archaeological dental calculus derived from various skeletal collections in the United Kingdom. This article describes all the materials used including the skeletons historical period and burial location, biological sex, and age determination, data accessibility, and additional details associated with environmental and laboratory controls. In addition, this article describes the laboratory and bioinformatic methods associated with the dataset development and discusses the technical validity of the data following quality assessments, damage evaluations, and decontamination procedures. Our approach to collecting, making accessible, and evaluating bioarchaeological metadata in advance of metagenomic analysis aims to further enable the exploration of archaeological science topics such as diet, disease, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Anthropogenic habitat alteration leads to rapid loss of adaptive variation and restoration potential in wild salmon populations

Phenotypic variation is critical for the long-term persistence of species and populations. Anthropogenic activities have caused substantial shifts and reductions in phenotypic variation across diverse taxa, but the underlying mechanism (i.e., phenotypic plasticity and/or genetic evolution) and potential to recover previous phenotypic characteristics are unclear. Here we investigate changes in adult migration characteristics of wild salmon populations caused by dam construction and other anthropogenic habitat modifications. Strikingly, we find that dramatic allele frequency change (i.e., genetic evolution) from strong selection at a single locus explains the rapid phenotypic shift observed after recent dam construction. Furthermore, ancient DNA analysis confirms the abundance of a specific allele associated with adult migration type in historical habitat that will soon become accessible through a large restoration (i.e., dam removal) project. However, analysis of contemporary samples suggests the restoration will be challenged by loss of the allele from potential source populations. These results highlight the need to conserve and restore critical adaptive variation before the potential for recovery is lost.

genetics↗