FEMFERT – The first increase of female fertility: genomics of Neolithic demographic transition

Project aim: To generate high coverage and high quality aDNA sequences of hunter gatherers and agricultural females who lived in the Central Balkans, from 10000-5500 BC and to perform comparative genomic analysis focusing on genes involved in fertility, immunity and metabolism.

 

About the project: Key to understanding human evolution is determining how humans achieved population growth as hunter-gatherer populations transitioned to settled, agricultural societies. Humans initially lived in low-density populations, with fertility first increasing during the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT) around 8000 years ago. So far, NDT research was based on archaeological data, understanding of cultural practices and population modelling. The advent of ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing, however, opens a new avenue for NDT genetics research. Determination of the genetic contribution to increased fertility is becoming critical following recent indications that European Hunter Gatherers (EHG) and Anatolian Farmers (AF) were genetically distinct. The Danube Gorge (Central Balkans) is a key region for studying the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition process on a genomic level. Here, EHG co-existed with the first AF settlements, with low population admixture.

 

FEMFERT will generate high-coverage, EHG and AF genome sequences, and perform comparative genomic analyses on gene families involved in fertility and immunity that will help us to understand NDT genetics, and human genome evolution. The comparative genomic analysis will be based on comparing high coverage aDNA genomes (in this case at least 10X). Samples will be processed and analysed in the ancient DNA facility of EASI Genomics.