Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs

Abstract Background In-solution hybridization enrichment of genetic markers is a method of choice in paleogenomic studies, where the DNA of interest is generally heavily fragmented and contaminated with environmental DNA, and where the retrieval of genetic data comparable between individuals is chal...

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Main Authors: Roberta Davidson, Xavier Roca-Rada, Shyamsundar Ravishankar, Leonard Taufik, Christian Haarkötter, Evelyn Collen, Matthew P. Williams, Peter Webb, M. Irfan Mahmud, Erlin Novita Idje Djami, Gludhug A. Purnomo, Cristina Santos, Assumpció Malgosa, Linda R. Manzanilla, Ana Maria Silva, Sofia Tereso, Vítor Matos, Pedro C. Carvalho, Teresa Fernandes, Anne-France Maurer, João C. Teixeira, Raymond Tobler, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Bastien Llamas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:Genome Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03622-6
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author Roberta Davidson
Xavier Roca-Rada
Shyamsundar Ravishankar
Leonard Taufik
Christian Haarkötter
Evelyn Collen
Matthew P. Williams
Peter Webb
M. Irfan Mahmud
Erlin Novita Idje Djami
Gludhug A. Purnomo
Cristina Santos
Assumpció Malgosa
Linda R. Manzanilla
Ana Maria Silva
Sofia Tereso
Vítor Matos
Pedro C. Carvalho
Teresa Fernandes
Anne-France Maurer
João C. Teixeira
Raymond Tobler
Lars Fehren-Schmitz
Bastien Llamas
author_facet Roberta Davidson
Xavier Roca-Rada
Shyamsundar Ravishankar
Leonard Taufik
Christian Haarkötter
Evelyn Collen
Matthew P. Williams
Peter Webb
M. Irfan Mahmud
Erlin Novita Idje Djami
Gludhug A. Purnomo
Cristina Santos
Assumpció Malgosa
Linda R. Manzanilla
Ana Maria Silva
Sofia Tereso
Vítor Matos
Pedro C. Carvalho
Teresa Fernandes
Anne-France Maurer
João C. Teixeira
Raymond Tobler
Lars Fehren-Schmitz
Bastien Llamas
author_sort Roberta Davidson
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background In-solution hybridization enrichment of genetic markers is a method of choice in paleogenomic studies, where the DNA of interest is generally heavily fragmented and contaminated with environmental DNA, and where the retrieval of genetic data comparable between individuals is challenging. Here, we benchmark the commercial “Twist Ancient DNA” reagent from Twist Biosciences using sequencing libraries from ancient human samples of diverse demographic origin with low to high endogenous DNA content (0.1–44%). For each library, we tested one and two rounds of enrichment and assessed performance compared to deep shotgun sequencing. Results We find that the “Twist Ancient DNA” assay provides robust enrichment of approximately 1.2M target SNPs without introducing allelic bias that may interfere with downstream population genetics analyses. Additionally, we show that pooling up to 4 sequencing libraries and performing two rounds of enrichment is both reliable and cost-effective for libraries with less than 27% endogenous DNA content. Above 38% endogenous content, a maximum of one round of enrichment is recommended for cost-effectiveness and to preserve library complexity. Conclusions In conclusion, we provide researchers in the field of human paleogenomics with a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and limitations of different sequencing and enrichment strategies, and our results offer practical guidance for optimizing experimental protocols.
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spelling doaj-art-d15ca8b66b17460c9a3ccdacbc5ac8fc2025-08-20T03:38:18ZengBMCGenome Biology1474-760X2025-07-0126112010.1186/s13059-025-03622-6Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPsRoberta Davidson0Xavier Roca-Rada1Shyamsundar Ravishankar2Leonard Taufik3Christian Haarkötter4Evelyn Collen5Matthew P. Williams6Peter Webb7M. Irfan Mahmud8Erlin Novita Idje Djami9Gludhug A. Purnomo10Cristina Santos11Assumpció Malgosa12Linda R. Manzanilla13Ana Maria Silva14Sofia Tereso15Vítor Matos16Pedro C. Carvalho17Teresa Fernandes18Anne-France Maurer19João C. Teixeira20Raymond Tobler21Lars Fehren-Schmitz22Bastien Llamas23Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideLaboratory of Genetic Identification & Human Rights (LABIGEN-UGR), Department of Legal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of GranadaAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideDepartment of Biology, The Pennsylvania State UniversityAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideResearch Center for Prehistoric and Historic Archaeology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)Research Center for Prehistoric and Historic Archaeology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideGrup de Recerca en Antropologia Biològica (GREAB), Unitat d’Antropologia Biològica, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaGrup de Recerca en Antropologia Biològica (GREAB), Unitat d’Antropologia Biològica, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaInstituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoCIAS, Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of CoimbraCIAS, Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of CoimbraCIAS, Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of CoimbraFaculty of Arts and Humanities, University of CoimbraCIAS, Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of CoimbraHERCULES Laboratory and IN2PAST, University of ÉvoraAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideDepartment of Anthropology, UCSC Paleogenomics, University of CaliforniaAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of AdelaideAbstract Background In-solution hybridization enrichment of genetic markers is a method of choice in paleogenomic studies, where the DNA of interest is generally heavily fragmented and contaminated with environmental DNA, and where the retrieval of genetic data comparable between individuals is challenging. Here, we benchmark the commercial “Twist Ancient DNA” reagent from Twist Biosciences using sequencing libraries from ancient human samples of diverse demographic origin with low to high endogenous DNA content (0.1–44%). For each library, we tested one and two rounds of enrichment and assessed performance compared to deep shotgun sequencing. Results We find that the “Twist Ancient DNA” assay provides robust enrichment of approximately 1.2M target SNPs without introducing allelic bias that may interfere with downstream population genetics analyses. Additionally, we show that pooling up to 4 sequencing libraries and performing two rounds of enrichment is both reliable and cost-effective for libraries with less than 27% endogenous DNA content. Above 38% endogenous content, a maximum of one round of enrichment is recommended for cost-effectiveness and to preserve library complexity. Conclusions In conclusion, we provide researchers in the field of human paleogenomics with a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and limitations of different sequencing and enrichment strategies, and our results offer practical guidance for optimizing experimental protocols.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03622-6Ancient DNAEnrichmentPopulation geneticsHuman paleogenomics
spellingShingle Roberta Davidson
Xavier Roca-Rada
Shyamsundar Ravishankar
Leonard Taufik
Christian Haarkötter
Evelyn Collen
Matthew P. Williams
Peter Webb
M. Irfan Mahmud
Erlin Novita Idje Djami
Gludhug A. Purnomo
Cristina Santos
Assumpció Malgosa
Linda R. Manzanilla
Ana Maria Silva
Sofia Tereso
Vítor Matos
Pedro C. Carvalho
Teresa Fernandes
Anne-France Maurer
João C. Teixeira
Raymond Tobler
Lars Fehren-Schmitz
Bastien Llamas
Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs
Genome Biology
Ancient DNA
Enrichment
Population genetics
Human paleogenomics
title Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs
title_full Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs
title_fullStr Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs
title_full_unstemmed Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs
title_short Optimized in-solution enrichment of over a million ancient human SNPs
title_sort optimized in solution enrichment of over a million ancient human snps
topic Ancient DNA
Enrichment
Population genetics
Human paleogenomics
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03622-6
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