ARAUCANA · Archaeological and Anthropological Unravelling of Chickens using Ancient DNA in Neotropical America
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-04-01 → 2023-09-30
- EU contribution
- €186,877
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Archaeological and Anthropological Unravelling of Chickens using Ancient DNA in Neotropical America
Neotropical America contributes over a fifth to global poultry production, yet chickens only arrived on the continent ~500 years ago. Despite this recent introduction, chickens successfully adapted to the diverse local environments and diseases and are now well-embedded within the continent’s numerous cultures. But the circumstances of their introduction in South America and their interactions with local societies remain poorly documented and much debated, whilst phenotypic and genetic characterisation of local chicken ecotypes is lacking. This dearth in knowledge is a cause for concern particularly with respect to cultural heritage, biodiversity, and food security. The ARAUCANA project addresses this debate and important knowledge gap by combining zooarchaeology and (palaeo)genomics to investigate the cultural and genetic history of chickens in Neotropical America. Its results have shown that 1) there is currently no evidence for a pre-Columbian Polynesian introduction of chickens on the continent, and 2) wild local birds still made-up an important part of local communities’ diet throughout the last 500 years. Metagenomic analyses also revealed how changing farming practices can be the driving force behind increased virulence in poultry pathogens. Our findings have crucial implications on the timing, origins, and management practices of chickens in Neotropical America and beyond.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
With three chickens for every human being at any given time, poultry production is a key agricultural player, providing an efficient source of protein to billions of people regardless of religion or culture. Neotropical America contributes over a fifth to global poultry production, yet chickens only arrived on the continent 500 years ago. Since, they have played a central societal and economic role in local communities and are now well embedded within the continent’s numerous cultures. Though details surrounding their European and Polynesian introductions and spread throughout Neotropical America remain unclear, these birds have adapted to the continent’s diverse environments including diseases, leading them to display a unique genetic pool of phenotypic, productivity, adaptation and disease-resilient traits. Yet with an increasing consumer demand, local populations are being crossbred with commercial stock, and a lack of identification, characterisation and conservation of the indigenous gene pool is leading to the erosion and loss of that unique genetic make-up. Combining archaeology, anthropology, history and ancient population genomics, ARAUCANA aims to document the cultural history of chickens in Neotropical America (such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and the Caribbean), as well as begin mapping the evolution of indigenous traits linked to environmental adaptation, disease resistance and productivity by characterising the past genetic diversity of local chicken populations through time. It will also attempt to recover ancient (partial) pathogen genomes in order to trace their evolution and spread through time in relation to specific lifeways and environments. This will enrich our understanding of the biomolecular mechanisms and pathogenesis of infectious diseases. As the first study of its kind, it will shine new light on cultural and biological Neotropical American heritage while also informing on conservation measures, food security and safety
Original text from CORDIS.
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Data: CORDIS, © European Union