Ancient mtDNA sequences from the First Australians revisited

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1521066113
• Publication Date: 2016-06-07T03:44:38Z
• Authors: Tim H. Heupink; Sankar Subramanian; Joanne L. Wright; Phillip Endicott; Michael Carringto...; Leon Huynen; Walther Parson; Craig D. Millar; Eske Willerslev; David M. Lambert
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Likelihood Functions; Asia; mitogenomics; biological sciences; Human Origins; Australia; Evolutionary biology not elsewhere classified; Hominin; 820; Aboriginal Australians; DNA, Mitochondrial; Human Dispersals; FoR multidisciplinary; 03 medical and health sciences; Human Mitochondrial-Dna; Humans; anthropology; ancient DNA; Modern Humans; Phylogeny

Significance This report is the first publication, to our knowledge, to report the complete mitochondrial genome of an ancient Aboriginal Australian. In addition, it also provides important evidence about the reliability of the only previous publication of this kind. The paper attained international significance, although its conclusions have remained controversial. Using second generation DNA sequencing methods, we provide strong evidence that the DNA sequences reported by Adcock et al. were, indeed, contamination. Our manuscript is also important, because the research was planned and conducted and is published with the support of the Barkindji, Ngiyampaa, and Muthi Muthi indigenous groups.