Advances in genome-scale DNA sequencing technologies have revolutionized genetic research on ancient organisms, extinct species, and past environments. When it is recoverable after hundreds or thousands of years of unintended preservation, 'ancient DNA' (or aDNA) is often highly degraded, necessitating specialized handling and analytical approaches. Paleogenomics defines the field of reconstructing and analyzing the genomes of historic or long-dead organisms, most often through comparison with modern representatives of the same or similar species. The opportunity to isolate and study paleogenomes has radically transformed many fields, spanning biology, anthropology, agriculture, and medicine. Examples include understanding evolutionary relationships of extinct species known only from fossils, the domestication of plants and animals, and the evolution and geographical spread of certain pathogens. This pioneering book presents a snapshot view of the history, current status, and future prospects of paleogenomics, taking a broad viewpoint that covers a range of topics and organisms to provide an up-to-date status of the applications, challenges, and promise of the field. This book is intended for a variety of readerships, including upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, professionals and experts in the field, as well as anyone excited by the extraordinary insights that paleogenomics offers.

Dr. Charlotte Lindqvist Associate Professor
University at Buffalo (SUNY) Department of Biological Sciences Buffalo, NY USA
Dr. Om P. Rajora Professor University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB E3C 5A3 Canada

Autorentext

Dr. Charlotte LindqvistAssociate Professor University at Buffalo (SUNY)Department of Biological SciencesBuffalo, NYUSA Dr. Om P. RajoraProfessorUniversity of New BrunswickFredericton, NB E3C 5A3Canada

Inhalt

Preface.

PART I - Perspectives and Applications

1 Paleogenomics: perspectives for population genomics and evolutionary biology

Charlotte Lindqvist, University at Buffalo, NY

2 DNA degradation and applications - a current overview

Nadin Rohland, Harvard Medical School, MA

3 Epigenetic patterns in paleogenomes

Jakob Skou Pedersen, Aarhus University, Denmark 4 Ancient RNA

Thomas Gilbert, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

PART II - Ancient Metagenomics and Pathogen Evolution

5 Ancient viruses (HIV)

Hendrik Poinar, McMaster University, Canada

6 Ancient pathogen genomics

Anne Stone, Arizona State University, AZ

7 Metagenomic reconstruction of ancient environments

Eske Willerslev, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

8 Ancient peat sediments and reconstruction of floras Laura Parducci, Uppsala University, Sweden

PART III - Plant and Animal Paleogenomics

9 Archaeobotany and crop adaptation

Robin Allaby, University of Warwick, UK

10 Reconstructing ancestral plant genomes

David Sankorff, University of Ottawa, Canada; Victor Albert, University at Buffalo, NY

11 Extinction of ice age mammals

Love Dalen, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Sweden 12 Evolution of animal domestication

Greger Larson, University of Oxford, UK

13 Horse evolution

Ludovic Orlando, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 14 Arctic mammals: Polar bear evolution

Charlotte Lindqvist, University at Buffalo, NY

PART IV - Primate and Human Evolution

15 Primate paleogenomics

George Perry, Penn State University, PA

16 Genomes of extinct hominins

Svante Paabo, Marx Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany

17 Structural variants in ancient genomes

Omer Gokcumen, University at Buffalo, NY

Vincent Lynch, University of Chicago, IL; Stephan Schuster, Nanyang University, Singapore 19 High altitude adaptation in humans

Rasmus Nielsen, University of Berkeley, CA

Index.