Abstract
The sequencing of ancient DNA provides perspectives on the genetic history of past populations and extinct species. However, ancient DNA research presents specific limitations mostly due to DNA survival, damage and contamination. Yet with stringent laboratory procedures, the sensitivity of target enrichment methods and the massive throughput and latest advances within DNA sequencing, the field of ancient DNA has flourished in later
years. Those advances have even enabled the sequencing of complete genomes from the past, moving the field into genomic sciences. In this thesis we have used these latest developments within ancient DNA research, including target enrichment capture and Next-Generation Sequencing, to address a range of evolutionary questions related to two major mammalian
groups, equids and rodents. In particular we have resolved phylogenetic relationships within equids using complete mitochond ial genomes of extant and extinct taxa, and dated major radiation events within Equidae. We have also revealed the phylogenetic origins of hutias, a group of capromyid rodents from the West Indies using museum specimens and a museomic approach, and at the other end of the spectrum, characterized the oldest genome ever
analysed, that of a 700 thousand year old Pleistocene horse. This thesis illustrates the power of ancient DNA research in revealing the evolutionary trajectory of ancient and contemporary groups.
years. Those advances have even enabled the sequencing of complete genomes from the past, moving the field into genomic sciences. In this thesis we have used these latest developments within ancient DNA research, including target enrichment capture and Next-Generation Sequencing, to address a range of evolutionary questions related to two major mammalian
groups, equids and rodents. In particular we have resolved phylogenetic relationships within equids using complete mitochond ial genomes of extant and extinct taxa, and dated major radiation events within Equidae. We have also revealed the phylogenetic origins of hutias, a group of capromyid rodents from the West Indies using museum specimens and a museomic approach, and at the other end of the spectrum, characterized the oldest genome ever
analysed, that of a 700 thousand year old Pleistocene horse. This thesis illustrates the power of ancient DNA research in revealing the evolutionary trajectory of ancient and contemporary groups.
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | Natural History Museum of Denmark, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen |
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| Number of pages | 278 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |