Ancient DNA Reveals Climate Refuge and Genetic Stability in Iberian Peninsula

Willerslev, a specialist in ancient DNA, seeks biological samples from artifacts, even dinosaur casts, for proteins. He secured a science prize from the World Cultural Council for evolutionary genetics breakthroughs, including recovering an ancient man's genome in 2010 and retrieving 2.4-million-year-old genes from Greenland, revealing a past Arctic forest. This "ancient-DNA revolution" uses high-speed equipment on past specimens. The Globe Institute stores human molars, ear bones, and sediment cores to trace extinct ecosystems. "We're literally walking on DNA, both from the present and from the past." Researchers aim to use ancient DNA for practical use, such as finding origins of modern diseases or modifying organisms. Willerslev's center received a grant to incorporate ancient plant DNA into crops to resist climate change. Barley shoots with 2-million-year-old Greenland genes are growing in greenhouses. Willerslev aims to turn ancient-DNA research into a planet-saving tool, finding genetic adaptations to climate events in past climate regimes. Early claims of extracting DNA from a 120-million-year-old weevil in amber proved false due to contamination. Modern DNA is more abundant and degrades old DNA. An international team recovered 25,000-year-old human and animal DNA from El Mirón cave in Cantabria, supporting the Iberian Peninsula as a glacial refuge. The genetic material was compared to "La Dama Roja" [The Red Lady], a 19,000-year-old woman found in the same cave, and samples from other sites. Human populations were "remarkably stable," according to the University of Cantabria. The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by Ana Marín Arroyo and Manuel González Morales. It identified animal species absent in the fossil record, like the dhole (a type of wild dog), mammoth, and hyena. Leopards were linked to those from the Caucasus before the Ice Age. González Morales highlighted the connection to the Fournol lineage, found in other Iberian sites and linked to the earliest modern humans in Europe. This lineage persists in La Dama Roja. The findings open collaborations between archaeology, archaeozoology, and proteomics to understand changes in animal and human populations and their extinctions. Marín Arroyo emphasized the preservation quality of the cave and its relevance for studying Upper Paleolithic human populations. Ancient DNA, recovered from preserved remains or sediments, provides information on evolution, genetic diversity, and relationships between past species and populations. Sediment DNA reveals species without fossil remains.