Identification of Haplogroups and Molecular Markers in Skeletal Samples
Excavated from the Ancient City of Resuloğlu (Uğurludağ, Çorum)
Abstract
Mitochondrial DNA analyses were carried out in order to determine the
haplogroups of 6 individuals obtained from the cemetery of Resuloğlu and
dated to the Early Bronze Age (EBA III). The individuals to be included
in the bioinformatics analysis were evaluated according to their
sequence quality and it was decided that 3 individuals could be used in
further analysis. Using bioinformatics tools, it was determined that
three individuals belonged to the T2e+152, H32 and JT haplogroups. These
results support a link between the origins of the present-day European
population and the farmers of the Anatolian Neolithic period.
Furthermore, a detailed analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms
revealed T16189C and C150T mutations in the two of three individuals,
which are associated with the risk of melanoma and cervical cancer - HPV
infection. These molecular findings are consistent with the health
profiles of the excavated skeletons, which indicate that the community
struggled with infectious and metabolic diseases. The entire study was
carried out in the Ancient DNA and Metagenomics Research Laboratory of
the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Istanbul University.
Keywords: Ancient DNA, Mitochondrial DNA, Single Nucleotide
Polymorphism, Haplogroup