Trace and Environmental DNA laboratory (TrEnD-lab)

We present an Aboriginal Australian genomic sequence obtained from a 100-year-old lock of hair donated by an Aboriginal man from southern Western Australia in the early 20th century. We detect no evidence of European admixture and estimate contamination levels to be below 0.5%. We show that Aboriginal Australians are descendants of an early human dispersal into eastern Asia, possibly 62,000 to 75,000 years ago. This dispersal is separate from the one that gave rise to modern Asians 25,000 to 38,000 years ago. We also find evidence of gene flow between populations of the two dispersal waves prior to the divergence of Native Americans from modern Asian ancestors. Our findings support the hypothesis that present-day Aboriginal Australians descend from the earliest humans to occupy Australia, likely representing one of the oldest continuous populations outside Africa.

Although the taphonomic (post-mortem) degradation processes relevant to teeth and bones have been well described, those taking place with regards to mammalian hairs have not been characterized to the same extent. This present article describes, in detail, microscopic changes resulting from the actions of biological agents that digest and degrade hairs. The most noteworthy and prevalent agents responsible for the destruction of hair structure are fungi, which use a range of strategies to invade and digest hairs. One of the most important finds to emerge from this study is that taphonomic structures and processes can easily be interpreted by the unwary as 'real', or as class characteristics for a particular animal taxon. Moreover, under certain conditions, 'taphonomic' processes normally associated with the dead are also present on the hairs of the living. This work will improve the reliability of hair examinations in forensic, archaeological and palaeontological applications-in addition, the finding has relevance in the protection of mammalian collections susceptible to infestation. This article also addresses the popular myth that ancient peoples were often red-haired and discusses phenomena responsible for this observation. Insights gained from detailed characterization of taphonomic processes in 95 hairs from a variety of species demonstrate the range and breadth of degradative effects on hair structure and colour. Lastly, the study demonstrates that hairs often tell a story and that there is value of extracting as much morphological data as possible from hairs, prior to destructive sampling for biomolecules.

The examination of hair collected from crime scenes is an important and highly informative discipline relevant to many forensic investigations. However, the forensic identification of animal (non-human) hairs requires different skill sets and competencies to those required for human hair comparisons. The aim of this is paper is not only to highlight the intrinsic differences between forensic human hair comparison and forensic animal hair identification, but also discuss the utility and reliability of the two in the context of possibilities and pitfalls. It also addresses and dispels some of the more popular myths and misconceptions surrounding the microscopical examination of animal hairs. Furthermore, future directions of this discipline are explored through the proposal of recommendations for minimum standards for the morphological identification of animal hairs and the significance of the newly developed guidelines by SWGWILD is discussed

Lowe’s Otter Civet Cynogale lowei is known from only one specimen, which was collected in the winter of 1926-27 in northern Vietnam. It has been considered to be a global priority for small carnivore conservation. Its taxonomic status – a species or a highly disjunct subspecies of Otter Civet C. bennettii – has been debated. This study assessed the taxonomic validity of Lowe’s Otter Civet through three principal methods: (i) a gross morphological comparison of tropical Asian otters, Otter Civet and ‘Specimen 1927.12.1.93’ (the Lowe’s Otter Civet holotype), (ii) microscopic hair analysis from museum specimens of tropical Asian otters, Otter Civet and Specimen 1927.12.1.93 and (iii) DNA analysis of genetic material extracted from Specimen 1927.12.1.93, which was then compared with sequences from tropical Asian otters and Otter Civet. All methods indicated that the specimen is a juvenile Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra. The IUCN SSC Small Carnivore Specialist Group, conservation donors and practitioners should all immediately disregard ’Lowe’s Otter Civet’ as a priority, to ensure that the limited resources for conservation are not wasted.