Breakthrough in studying ancient DNA from Doggerland that separates the
UK from Europe

Date:
July 16, 2020
Source:
University of Warwick
Summary:
Scientists have studied sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) from
sediment deposits in the southern North Sea, an area which has not
previously been linked to a tsunami that occurred 8150 years ago.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Thousands of years ago the UK was physically joined to the rest of Europe through an area known as Doggerland. However, a marine inundation took
place during the mid-holocene, separating the British landmass from the
rest of Europe, which is now covered by the North Sea.


========================================================================== Scientists from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick
have studied sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) from sediment deposits
in the southern North Sea, an area which has not previously been linked
to a tsunami that occurred 8150 years ago.

The paper, led by the University of Bradford and involving Universities
of Warwick, Wales St. Trinity David, St. Andrews, Cork, Aberystwyth,
Tartu as well as the Smithsonian and Natural History Museum, 'Multi-Proxy Characterisation of the Storegga Tsunami and Its Impact on the Early
Holocene Landscapes of the Southern North Sea', published in the Journal Geosciences, sees Life Scientists from the University of Warwick work specifically on the sedimentary ancient DNA from Doggerland.

A number of innovative breakthroughs were achieved by the University
of Warwick scientists in terms of analysing the sedaDNA. One of these
was the concept of biogenomic mass, where for the first time they were
able to see the how the biomass changes with events, evidence of this
presented in the paper refers to the large woody mass of trees from the
tsunami found in the DNA of the ancient sediment.

New ways of authenticating the sedaDNA were also developed, as current
methods of authentication do not apply to sedaDNA which has been damaged
whilst under the sea for thousands of years because there is too little information for each individual species. Researchers therefore came
up with a new way, metagenomic assessment methodology, whereby the characteristic damage found at the ends of ancient DNA molecules is collectively analysed across all species rather than one.

Alongside this a key part of analysing the sedaDNA is to determine
whether or not it was deposited in situ or has moved over time. This led researchers to develop statistical methods to establish which scenario
was appropriate, using stratigraphic integrity they were able to determine
that the sedaDNA in the sediment deposits had not moved a massive amount
since deposition by assessing the biomolecules vertical movement in the
core column of the sedaDNA.

Identifying which organisms the ancient fragmented molecules of DNA came
from is also challenging because often there is nothing to directly
compare. In a fourth innovation the researchers refined algorithms to
define these regions of "dark phylogenetic space" from where organisms
must have originated overcome this issue.

Professor Robin Allaby from the School of Life Sciences at the University
of Warwick comments: "This study represents an exciting milestone for sedimentary ancient DNA studies establishing a number of breakthrough
methods to reconstruct an 8,150 year old environmental catastrophe in the
lands that existed before the North Sea flooded them away into history." Professor Vince Gaffney from the School of Archaeological and Forensic
Sciences at the University of Bradford said: "Exploring Doggerland,
the lost landscape underneath the North Sea, is one of the last great archaeological challenges in Europe. This work demonstrates that an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and scientists can bring this landscape back to life and even throw new light on one of prehistory's
great natural disasters, the Storegga Tsunami.

"The events leading up to the Storegga tsunami have many similarities
to those of today. Climate is changing and this impacts on many aspects
of society, especially in coastal locations."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Warwick. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Vincent Gaffney, Simon Fitch, Martin Bates, Roselyn L. Ware, Tim
Kinnaird, Benjamin Gearey, Tom Hill, Richard Telford, Cathy Batt,
Ben Stern, John Whittaker, Sarah Davies, Mohammed Ben Sharada, Rosie
Everett, Rebecca Cribdon, Logan Kistler, Sam Harris, Kevin Kearney,
James Walker, Merle Muru, Derek Hamilton, Matthew Law, Alex Finlay,
Richard Bates, Robin G. Allaby. Multi-Proxy Characterisation of the
Storegga Tsunami and Its Impact on the Early Holocene Landscapes
of the Southern North Sea.

Geosciences, 2020; 10 (7): 270 DOI: 10.3390/geosciences10070270 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200716101619.htm

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