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Inproceedings Reference Paleogenetic analysis of cat mummies from ancient Egypt
Situated at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, Egypt is considered one of the two potential cradles of cat domestication (Felis catus). Here, cats most likely developed their relationship with humans with a dual role. In fact, on the one hand Egyptian iconography depicts cats as skilled hunters, and on the other hand as companion animals, quietly sitting under the chairs of noble people and as guardians of the deceased (Yoyotte & Vernus, 2005). Egyptian cats were object of a cult dedicated to the goddess Bastet, and from the 1st millennium BC until the 4th century AD were mummified as votive offerings. Previous ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation (Ottoni 2017) showed that cats in ancient Egypt possessed two maternal lineages commonly found in modern domestic cats. Haplotype-C, which spread all over the Old World since Classical Antiquity from Northern Africa, and haplotype-A, which was associated with an earlier cat dispersal from the Levant during the Neolithic. DNA from cat mummies represents a key tool to unravel the role of Egypt as a possible independent centre of domestication, despite the fact that the retrieval of aDNA from mummified tissues has greatly been challenged by DNA preservation. Here, we show the preliminary results of aDNA analyses conducted on more than 50 Egyptian cat mummies from Beni Hassan and Gourna (Luxor), dated to the Greco-Roman period. By comparing different methods (e.g. single and double stranded genomic library construction), we provide an extensive case for screening DNA preservation in arid regions, and within different tissues, such as hair, claws, and petrous bones. We also explore the potential to gain novel insights on the dispersal of domestic cats from Egypt in Classical Antiquity through mitochondrial and genome-wide data.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Paleogenomic insights into the dispersal of domestic cats into Europe and selection patterns over time
Zooarchaeological and genetic evidence from the last two decades demonstrated that domestic cats originated from the North African and Near Eastern wildcat, Felis lybica lybica. The commensal relationship between humans and cats started about 11 thousand years ago in the Neolithic Levant. Recent paleogenomic evidence showed that cats were introduced to Europe several millennia later, in the Roman era. Yet, archaeozoological and ancient mitochondrial DNA data from northwest Europe suggest that domestic cats were already present in this region in the 1st millennium BCE, in Iron Age settlements. Until now, only three cats from Europe dated to this period have been analysed at the nuclear level, thus leaving uncertainty on the times and circumstances of the human mediated dispersal of domestic cats into Europe. To address that, we analysed the DNA of 30 cat remains dated from the Bronze Age to the Roman era from northern and western Europe. We built double-stranded genomic libraries and generated low-coverage genome-wide data via shotgun sequencing. The temporal transect of genomic variation that we reconstructed made it possible to refine the timing of the introduction of the domestic cat to Europe. In addition, to investigate patterns of selection in the history of cat domestication, we show here the preliminary results of the analysis of cat phenotypic variants across time and place, with a particular focus on the sex-linked orange coat colour.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Inproceedings Reference Paleogenomic insights into cat domestication in ancient Egypt
Situated at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, Egypt is considered one of the two potential cradles of cat domestication. Zooarchaeological evidence points to cat-human relationships as old as the 4th millennium BC. Later, cats were object of a cult dedicated to the goddess Bastet, and from the 1st millennium BC until the 4th century AD were mummified as votive offerings. Previous ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation showed that cats in ancient Egypt possessed two maternal lineages commonly found in modern domestic cats. Haplotype-C, which spread all over the Old World since Classical Antiquity from Northern Africa, and haplotype-A, which was associated with an earlier cat dispersal from the Levant during the Neolithic. DNA from cat mummies represents a key tool to unravel the role of Egypt as a possible independent centre of domestication, even though the retrieval of aDNA from mummified tissues has greatly been challenged by DNA preservation. Here, we show the preliminary results of aDNA analyses conducted on more than 50 Egyptian cat mummies from Beni Hassan and Gourna (Luxor), dated to the Greco-Roman period. By comparing different methods (e.g. single and double stranded genomic library construction), we provide an extensive case for screening DNA preservation in arid regions, and within different tissues, such as hair, claws, and petrous bones. We also explore the potential to gain novel insights on the dispersal of domestic cats from Egypt in Classical Antiquity through mitochondrial and genome-wide data.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Paleogenomics of European wild and domestic cats
Zooarchaeological and genetic evidence from the last two decades demonstrated that domestic cats originated from the North African and Near Eastern wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica. The commensal relationship between humans and cats most likely started 11 thousand years ago (kya) in the Neolithic Levant. More recently, ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evidence suggested that domestic cats spread to Southeast Europe as early as 4400 BC, however their dispersal to the rest of Europe is controversial due to the paucity of data. Furthermore, complex scenarios of admixture between domestic and wild populations (e.g., the European wildcat F. s. silvestris and the Asian wildcat F. s. ornata) may have taken place across time, thus leaving a mtDNA-based reconstruction unsatisfactory. Here we show the preliminary results of our paleogenomic investigation from more than 150 cat remains from European archaeological sites dated from 15 kya to the 18th century AD, with a peculiar focus on the Mediterranean area. By screening the samples for endogenous cat DNA content, we provide a framework of ancient DNA preservation in cat remains across time and space. Furthermore, by generating complete mtDNAs and low-coverage nuclear genome data (ranging from 0.2- to 1.4-fold), we were able to refine the chronology of cat dispersal in the Mediterranean region, and to address questions around potential admixture patterns between wild and domestic cat populations. Our paleogenomic dataset lay the foundations for future and more in-depth analyses aimed at understanding the factors determining the evolutionary success of the domestic cat.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Paleotemperature and seasonality in the Early Eocene southern North Sea Basin inferred from fossil fish otoliths.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Paleotemperature and seasonality in the early Eocene southern North Sea Basin inferred from fossil fish otoliths.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Inproceedings Reference Palynological approach of Landscape evolution and human impact in mountainous environment during the Holocene: patterns and chronology of pastoral activities in the Champsaur area (Hautes-Alpes, France) (oral presentation).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Panégyrique des quatre Ardenne. Si la géographie, la géologie et les matériaux utiles m’étaient contés.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Proceedings Reference Paramètres démographiques du Milan royal (Milvus milvus) nicheur en Belgique.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Parasite BioBlitz in a protected area: diversity across a forested wetland to tidal creek continuum in South Carolina, USA
The BioBlitz concept has become popular across taxonomic fields, attracting interest globally to increase knowledge of local biodiversity. However, large-scale application of BioBlitz events for parasites has not occurred due to the need for wide taxonomic expertise and in-field sample processing and microscopy. As a team of parasitologists with individual, complementary and methodologically aligned expertise, we adopted the concept of a BioBlitz as a ‘moonshot’-like endeavor and a proof-of-concept in our research field. Over ca. two weeks, we intensively screened fishes and various invertebrate taxa (annelids, crustaceans, snails, bivalves) for parasites, and sampled sediment and water for eDNA from four aquatic habitats: wetland, freshwater pond, brackish impoundment, and tidal creek at Stono Preserve (College of Charleston’s Foundation, South Carolina, USA) to cover ecosystem-level parasite diversity. Morphological and molecular identification of parasites collected revealed the presence of eight major parasite taxa (monogeneans, cestodes, digeneans, nematodes, copepods, myxozoans, flagellates, and leeches), several of which were new host and/or locality records with numerous host-parasite combinations. The finding of species new to science and numerous host-parasite combinations further supports that such short term and intensive surveys improve knowledge of parasite diversity, which is under-studied yet essential for deeper understanding of ecosystems at local and global scales.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025