Potential plant extinctions with the loss of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe

Nature Communications, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 16(1)

Опубликована: Янв. 14, 2025

Abstract During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, dominant mammoth steppe ecosystem across northern Eurasia vanished, in parallel with megafauna extinctions. However, plant extinction patterns are rarely detected due to lack of identifiable fossil records. Here, we introduce a method for detection taxa loss at regional (extirpation) potentially global scale (extinction) and their causes, as determined from ancient DNA metabarcoding sediment cores ( sed aDNA) lakes Siberia Alaska over past 28,000 years. Overall, potential extinctions track changes temperature, vegetation, transition. Estimated rates were 1.7–5.9 per million species years (E/MSY), above background but below modern estimates. Major events around 17,000 9000 ago which lag maximum vegetation turnover. Our results indicate that herbaceous contributing less beta diversity more vulnerable extinction. While robustness estimates will increase reference libraries aDNA data expand, available support plants resilient environmental than mammals.

Язык: Английский

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A 9600-year pollen record reveals a vegetation transformation at 2.2 ka on the central Tibetan Plateau

Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown, С. 112731 - 112731

Опубликована: Янв. 1, 2025

Язык: Английский

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Functional annotation of eukaryotic genes from sedimentary ancient DNA

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 13

Опубликована: Фев. 19, 2025

Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) provides valuable insights into past ecosystems, yet its functional diversity has remained unexplored due to potential limitations in gene annotation for short-read data. Eukaryotes, especially, are typically underrepresented and have low coverage complex metagenomic datasets from sediments. In this study, we evaluate the of eukaryotic sedimentary time-series data covering last 23,000 years. We compared four pipelines (GAPs) that apply Prodigal (ProkGAP) MetaEuk (EukGAP) with without taxonomic pre-classification. identify ProkGAP as pipeline which recovers largest catalog 6,568,483 genes highest number (5,895 unique KEGG orthologs). Our findings show ProkGAP, originally invented prokaryotic prediction, yields share among all GAPs tested. At same time, it allows analysis functions parallel predicts most diversity. Interestingly, our size an increasing trend towards recent times indicating a more community during Holocene. However, limited by incomplete reference databases, hamper link between taxonomic-functional relationships when considering lower levels. Future research on prediction short read sedaDNA should focus expanding databases sequencing depth explore composition ecosystems their environmental change.

Язык: Английский

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Postglacial bioweathering, soil nutrient cycling, and podzolization from palaeometagenomics of plants, fungi, and bacteria

Science Advances, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 11(19)

Опубликована: Май 7, 2025

Warming-induced glacier retreat exposes bare rocks and glacial sediments, facilitating the establishment of soils. The dynamic interplay between climate, vegetation cover, soil formation is poorly understood as time-series data are lacking. Here, we present postglacial during past 23,000 years inferred from ancient DNA shotgun analyses Lake Lama sediments targeting plants, soil-associated fungi, bacteria showing postmortem damage signatures that verify their origin. In Late Glacial, reveal basaltic weathering with high abundances lichens, carbon, arsenic cyclers, shifting to mycorrhizae domination N cycling in Holocene. We reconstruct podzolization starting spruce forest migration Holocene, resulting acidification increased iron cycling. Our reconstruction also contributes basic knowledge for design carbon-capture strategies using basalt weathering.

Язык: Английский

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Introduction to the special issue: Pollen diversity, vegetation history and range shift in the (sub)tropics through the Cenozoic

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Год журнала: 2024, Номер unknown, С. 105277 - 105277

Опубликована: Дек. 1, 2024

Язык: Английский

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