Hempel, Elisabeth
[Author]
;
Hofreiter, Michael
[Degree supervisor];
Zachos, Frank E.
[Degree supervisor];
Gilbert, M. Thomas P.
[Degree supervisor];
Bibi, Faysal
[Degree supervisor]Universität Potsdam
Resolving the evolutionary history of two hippotragin antelopes using archival and ancient DNA
University thesis:
Dissertation, Universität Potsdam, 2024
Footnote:
Description:
African antelopes are iconic but surprisingly understudied in terms of their genetics, especially when it comes to their evolutionary history and genetic diversity. The age of genomics provides an opportunity to investigate evolution using whole nuclear genomes. Decreasing sequencing costs enable the recovery of multiple loci per genome, giving more power to single specimen analyses and providing higher resolution insights into species and populations that can help guide conservation efforts. This age of genomics has only recently begun for African antelopes. Many African bovids have a declining population trend and hence, are often endangered. Consequently, contemporary samples from the wild are often hard to collect. In these cases, ex situ samples from contemporary captive populations or in the form of archival or ancient DNA (aDNA) from historical museum or archaeological/paleontological specimens present a great research opportunity with the latter two even offering a window to information about the past. However, the recovery of aDNA is still considered challenging from regions with prevailing climatic conditions that are deemed adverse for DNA preservation like the African continent. This raises the question if DNA recovery from fossils as old as the early Holocene from these regions is possible. [...]