The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility
Abstract Ancient DNA has emerged as a powerful tool for studying human migration through the detection of admixture signatures. Here, we present the theoretical principles and methodologies for admixture analysis, with an emphasis on f-statistics and qpAdm. We review case studies from the literature...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Genome Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03664-w |
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| _version_ | 1849342423805722624 |
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| author | Matthew P. Williams Christian D. Huber |
| author_facet | Matthew P. Williams Christian D. Huber |
| author_sort | Matthew P. Williams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ancient DNA has emerged as a powerful tool for studying human migration through the detection of admixture signatures. Here, we present the theoretical principles and methodologies for admixture analysis, with an emphasis on f-statistics and qpAdm. We review case studies from the literature demonstrating how these methods uncover patterns of human mobility, and discuss challenges related to data quality, demographic complexity, and sample representativeness on admixture and migration inferences. Finally, we highlight promising advancements in admixture analysis and underscore the importance of integrating genetic, archaeological, and historical data to achieve a more interdisciplinary and nuanced reconstruction of human history. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-22a5733ed84d43bf8f28f3c1171e8d40 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1474-760X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genome Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-22a5733ed84d43bf8f28f3c1171e8d402025-08-20T03:43:22ZengBMCGenome Biology1474-760X2025-07-0126112910.1186/s13059-025-03664-wThe genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobilityMatthew P. Williams0Christian D. Huber1Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartment of Biology, The Pennsylvania State UniversityAbstract Ancient DNA has emerged as a powerful tool for studying human migration through the detection of admixture signatures. Here, we present the theoretical principles and methodologies for admixture analysis, with an emphasis on f-statistics and qpAdm. We review case studies from the literature demonstrating how these methods uncover patterns of human mobility, and discuss challenges related to data quality, demographic complexity, and sample representativeness on admixture and migration inferences. Finally, we highlight promising advancements in admixture analysis and underscore the importance of integrating genetic, archaeological, and historical data to achieve a more interdisciplinary and nuanced reconstruction of human history.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03664-w |
| spellingShingle | Matthew P. Williams Christian D. Huber The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility Genome Biology |
| title | The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility |
| title_full | The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility |
| title_fullStr | The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility |
| title_full_unstemmed | The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility |
| title_short | The genomic footprints of migration: how ancient DNA reveals our history of mobility |
| title_sort | genomic footprints of migration how ancient dna reveals our history of mobility |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03664-w |
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