Biology subjects

Stora, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Stora, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Ancestry, admixture, and pathogens in contemporaneous Neolithic farmers and foragers on the Island of Gotland

Two archaeological cultural complexes coexisted on Gotland for over 500 years, between [~]3300 and 2800 calBCE, i.e. the Neolithic Funnelbeaker culture (FBC), and the Pitted ware culture (PWC). The ancestry of the FBC farmers and PWC marine foragers largely aligns with European Neolithic Farmers and European Mesolithic foragers, respectively, but the direct interactions between the groups on Gotland is not understood. We present a Middle Neolithic (MN) high-coverage genome and a Late Neolithic (LN) low-coverage genome from the Ansarve FBC dolmen. We investigate ancestry, admixture, and pathogens among these MN farmers (n =6), foragers (n=19), and a LN individual. We find that recent gene-flow between farmers and foragers could have taken place, although most gene-flow happened prior to their coexistence on the island. We also find evidence of different Yersinia pestis strains in the three cultural groups, showing that the pestis was widespread among groups with different subsistence strategies.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2023

Ancient Sheep Genomes reveal four Millennia of North European Short-Tailed Sheep in the Baltic Sea region

Sheep are among the earliest domesticated livestock species, with a wide variety of breeds present today. However, it remains unclear how far back this breed diversity goes, with formal documentation only dating back a few centuries. North European short-tailed breeds are often assumed to be among the oldest domestic sheep populations, even thought to represent relicts of the earliest sheep expansions during the Neolithic period reaching Scandinavia less than 6000 years ago. This study sequenced the genomes (up to 11.6X) of five sheep remains from the Baltic islands of Gotland and [A]land, dating from Late Neolithic ([~]4100 calBP) to historical times ([~]1600 CE). Our findings indicate that these ancient sheep largely possessed the genetic characteristics of modern North European short-tailed breeds, suggesting a substantial degree of long-term continuity of this breed type in the Baltic Sea region. Despite the wide temporal spread, population genetic analyses show high levels of affinity between the ancient genomes and they also exhibit higher genetic diversity when compared to modern breeds, implying a loss of diversity in recent centuries associated with breed formation. Finally, we see a potential signature of an even earlier, genetically different form of sheep in Scandinavia as these samples do not represent the first sheep in Northern Europe. Our results shed light on the development of breeds in Northern Europe specifically as well as the development of genetic diversity in sheep breeds, and their expansion from the domestication center in general.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia reveal colonization routes and high-latitude adaptation

Scandinavia was one of the last geographic areas in Europe to become habitable for humans after the last glaciation. However, the origin(s) of the first colonizers and their migration routes remain unclear. We sequenced the genomes, up to 57x coverage, of seven hunter-gatherers excavated across Scandinavia and dated to 9,500-6,000 years before present. Surprisingly, among the Scandinavian Mesolithic individuals, the genetic data display an east-west genetic gradient that opposes the pattern seen in other parts of Mesolithic Europe. This result suggests that Scandinavia was initially colonized following two different routes: one from the south, the other from the northeast. The latter followed the ice-free Norwegian north Atlantic coast, along which novel and advanced pressure-blade stone-tool techniques may have spread. These two groups met and mixed in Scandinavia, creating a genetically diverse population, which shows patterns of genetic adaptation to high latitude environments. These adaptations include high frequencies of low pigmentation variants and a gene-region associated with physical performance, which shows strong continuity into modern-day northern Europeans.

genomics↗