Scientists have sequenced the DNA of Egyptian mummies

An international group of scientists has presented reliable results of genetic analysis of ancient Egyptians for the first time

Denis Strigun, Naked Science

The wealth of natural resources and the geopolitical position (Central Africa) make Egypt an important source of data in the field of population genetics. This state dates back at least 5,000 years – until Modern times, it was repeatedly subjected to expansion and actively contacted the cultures of Asia, Africa and Europe. At the same time, the study of the history of Egypt is based on literature and archaeology. Genetic analysis of mummies is considered unreliable: the desert climate, high humidity in tombs and substances used in mummification, in particular sodium carbonate, accelerate the degradation of DNA. One of the last direct assessments of the genome of mummies (the family of Pharaoh Tutankhamun) was carried out in 2010 and caused debate about the reliability of the conclusions.

In a new article published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Tubingen, the University of Cambridge and other institutions presented the first reliable results of genetic analysis of ancient Egyptians. The samples were 151 mummies from the collections of the University of Tübingen and Felix von Luschan. Based on radiocarbon dating, the remains were divided into three periods: Pre-Ptolemaic, Ptolemaic and Roman. At the first stage, the authors assessed the age and macro-state of 30 mummies with preserved soft tissues by computed tomography. According to the results, most of them died in adulthood and had significant dentin deformities. According to scientists, this is due to the diet – mainly grain food with sand particles.

They then studied the genome of the mummies by high-throughput sequencing. From soft tissues, bones and teeth, scientists extracted and amplified mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (mtDNA and YADNA) and, through the schmutzi program, excluded polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products with a contamination fraction of more than three percent. Thanks to the BEAST program, mtDNA made it possible to determine the size of the population: depending on the period, within a 1300-year interval, 48,000 to 310,000 people probably lived in the region. Comparison with Ethiopian and Egyptian samples revealed a difference in mtDNA: the genome of modern Egyptians contained more African lines. According to the composition of the nuclei, the ancient Egyptians were closer to the European and Middle Eastern populations.

Sources of gene transfer in ancient Egyptian populations (top), 
modern Egyptians and some other ancient cultures (bottom)
©Verena J. Schuenemann et al., Nature Communications, 2017

The assessment of gene drift showed that the ancient Egyptians were most closely related to representatives of the Neolithic and Bronze Age of the Levant, as well as the Neolithic of modern Turkey and Europe. Additional study of genome fractions of different groups (based on the preservation and level of contamination at the stage of genetic analysis, the remains of three mummies were used) led the authors to the conclusion that their modern descendants – Copts – have eight percent more ancestors from Black Africa – 14-21 percent. Active mixing, as the researchers reported, could have started about 700 years ago – this is indicated by the values of recombination and disequilibrium in adhesion. The obtained population history data are consistent with the results of past studies.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  31.05.2017