The Isthmus of Panama was a crossroads between North and South America during the continent’s first peopling (and subsequent movements) also playing a pivotal role during European colonization and the African slave trade. Previous... more
The Isthmus of Panama was a crossroads between North and South America during the continent’s first peopling (and subsequent movements) also playing a pivotal role during European colonization and the African slave trade. Previous analyses of uniparental systems revealed significant sex biases in the genetic history of Panamanians, as testified by the high proportions of Indigenous and sub-Saharan mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) and by the prevalence of Western European/northern African Y chromosomes. Those studies were conducted on the general population without considering any self-reported ethnic affiliations. Here, we compared the mtDNA and Y-chromosome lineages of a new sample collection from 431 individuals (301 males and 130 females) belonging to either the general population, mixed groups, or one of five Indigenous groups currently living in Panama. We found different proportions of paternal and maternal lineages in the Indigenous groups testifying to pre-contact demographic eve...
We investigated the origins of the fallow deer (Dama dama dama) of Rhodes by both morphological and molecular means. Our results show that these deer have homogeneous phenotypic patterns. All specimens fell within the common colour coat... more
We investigated the origins of the fallow deer (Dama dama dama) of Rhodes by both morphological and molecular means. Our results show that these deer have homogeneous phenotypic patterns. All specimens fell within the common colour coat variety typical of the wild form. The Rhodian deer appear to be rather small, especially when compared with specimens from central and northern Europe. We then sequenced the HVR-I of 13 deer from Rhodes and compared these sequences with other 31 samples obtained from different European and Anatolian populations of fallow deer. Out of 44 sequences, 23 haploypes were found. When compared to the Turkish and Italian populations, the population of Rhodes revealed lower values of within population genetic diversity. The fallow deer from Rhodes are characterized by an 80-bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) insertion not found elsewhere. As a consequence, all the deer from Rhodes form a tight cluster, distinct from all other fallow deer populations. This uniqueness makes the conservation and management of the Rhodian population particularly urgent.
