Leopoldo Leone
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The abstract:
Unraveling the genetic history of Italians: a genome-wide study of Iron Age
Italic populations
Zaro Valentina (1), Vergata Chiara (1), Cannariato Costanza (1), Modi
Alessandra (1), Vai Stefania (1), Pilli Elena (1), Diroma Maria Angela (1),
Caramelli David (1), Lari Martina (1)
1 - Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy (Italy)
The high genetic variability of present-day Italians reflects a complex scenario of past
population dynamics dating back not only to Late Paleolithic and Neolithic but also
Metal Ages. Although many archaeogenetic studies have been recently carried out to
investigate the peopling of Europe, only few genomic data have been reported from
Italic populations so far, especially the ones belonging to the last phase of Metal
Ages: the Iron Age. To outline a picture of Iron Age genetic variability within the
Italian context and infer potential gene flow patterns, we collected 78 human remains
from 8 Iron Age necropolises covering 5 different regions of Italy (Emilia-Romagna,
Umbria, Marche, Latium and Sicily). Double stranded half-UDG libraries were
produced and then shotgun sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq6000 platform to
allow for an initial screening of the samples. Raw reads were processed using the
EAGER pipeline and then assessment of DNA authenticity and sex determination
were performed. Preliminary population genetics tests were run on genotyped data
by building a west Eurasian PCA including all the samples with at least 10.000 SNPs
covered on the Affymetrix Human Origins panel. The first results highlight an affinity
of the majority of the samples with previously reported Iron Age individuals from Italy,
while all samples from Sicily overlap with the genetic variability observed in this area
during the Bronze Age. Our aim is to deeper investigate these samples which can
significantly contribute to better understand past peopling dynamics of the Italian
peninsula and reconstruct modern Italians' genetic history.