Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history
Type
PreprintAuthor/s
Yu, HeJamieson, Alexandra
Hulme-Beaman, Ardern
Conroy, Chris J.
Knight, Becky
Speller, Camilla
Al-Jarah, Hiba
Eager, Heidi
Trinks, Alexandra
Adikari, Gamini
Baron, Henriette
Böhlendorf-Arslan, Beate
Bohingamuwa, Wijerathne
Crowther, Alison
Cucchi, Thomas
Esser, Kinie
Fleisher, Jeffrey
Gidney, Louisa
Gladilina, Elena
Gol’din, Pavel
Goodman, Steven M.
Hamilton-Dyer, Sheila
Helm, Richard
Hillman, Chris
Kallala, Nabil
Kivikero, Hanna
Kovács, Zsófia E.
Kunst, Günther Karl
Kyselý, René
Linderholm, Anna
Maraoui-Telmini, Bouthéina
Morales-Muñiz, Arturo
Nabais, Mariana
O'Connor, Terry
Oueslati, Tarek
Morales, Eréndira M. Quintana
Pasda, Kerstin
Perera, Jude
Perera, Nimal
Radbauer, Silvia
Ramon, Joan
Rannamäe, Eve
Grego, Joan Sanmartí
Treasure, Edward
Valenzuela-Lamas, Silvia
van der Jagt, Inge
Van Neer, Wim
Vigne, Jean-Denis
Walker, Thomas
Wynne-Jones, Stephanie
Zeiler, Jørn
Dobney, Keith
Boivin, Nicole
Searle, Jeremy B.
Krause-Kyora, Ben
Krause, Johannes
Larson, Greger
Orton, David
Abstract
Abstract The distribution of the black rat ( Rattus rattus ) has been heavily influenced by its association with humans. The dispersal history of this non-native commensal rodent across Europe, however, remains poorly understood, and different introductions may have occurred during ...
See moreAbstract The distribution of the black rat ( Rattus rattus ) has been heavily influenced by its association with humans. The dispersal history of this non-native commensal rodent across Europe, however, remains poorly understood, and different introductions may have occurred during the Roman and medieval periods. Here, in order to reconstruct the population history of European black rats, we generated a de novo genome assembly of the black rat, 67 ancient black rat mitogenomes and 36 ancient nuclear genomes from sites spanning the 1 st -17 th centuries CE in Europe and North Africa. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA confirm that black rats were introduced into the Mediterranean and Europe from Southwest Asia. Genomic analyses of the ancient rats reveal a population turnover in temperate Europe between the 6 th and 10 th centuries CE, coincident with an archaeologically attested decline in the black rat population. The near disappearance and re-emergence of black rats in Europe may have been the result of the breakdown of the Roman Empire, the First Plague Pandemic, and/or post-Roman climatic cooling.
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See moreAbstract The distribution of the black rat ( Rattus rattus ) has been heavily influenced by its association with humans. The dispersal history of this non-native commensal rodent across Europe, however, remains poorly understood, and different introductions may have occurred during the Roman and medieval periods. Here, in order to reconstruct the population history of European black rats, we generated a de novo genome assembly of the black rat, 67 ancient black rat mitogenomes and 36 ancient nuclear genomes from sites spanning the 1 st -17 th centuries CE in Europe and North Africa. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA confirm that black rats were introduced into the Mediterranean and Europe from Southwest Asia. Genomic analyses of the ancient rats reveal a population turnover in temperate Europe between the 6 th and 10 th centuries CE, coincident with an archaeologically attested decline in the black rat population. The near disappearance and re-emergence of black rats in Europe may have been the result of the breakdown of the Roman Empire, the First Plague Pandemic, and/or post-Roman climatic cooling.
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Date
2021Share