Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites
The southern African Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene hominin record is abundant and exhibits a high taxonomic diversity with three genera represented: Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. Hominin fossil diversity and variation are often contextualised within other fossil assemblages or moder...
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Academy of Science of South Africa
2025-02-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
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| Online Access: | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/18571 |
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| author | Palesa P. Madupe Fazeelah Munir Marc Dickinson Alberto J. Taurozzi Meaghan Mackie Mirriam Tawane Catherine Mollereau Nomawethu Hlazo Kirsty Penkman Lauren Schroeder Clément Zanolli Jesper V. Olsen Rebecca R. Ackermann Enrico Cappellini |
| author_facet | Palesa P. Madupe Fazeelah Munir Marc Dickinson Alberto J. Taurozzi Meaghan Mackie Mirriam Tawane Catherine Mollereau Nomawethu Hlazo Kirsty Penkman Lauren Schroeder Clément Zanolli Jesper V. Olsen Rebecca R. Ackermann Enrico Cappellini |
| author_sort | Palesa P. Madupe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The southern African Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene hominin record is abundant and exhibits a high taxonomic diversity with three genera represented: Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. Hominin fossil diversity and variation are often contextualised within other fossil assemblages or modern/extant counterparts. However, the incompleteness of the fossil record, sample selection bias and taphonomic condition of the specimens themselves constrain interpretations of diversity and variation within and between species. Thus, species identification and the nature of the observed variation are frequently debated. Palaeoproteomics can help improve our understanding of taxonomic variation, as demonstrated by the recently generated proteome of Paranthropus specimens from Swartkrans. Here, we demonstrate protein preservation for an A. africanus specimen from Sterkfontein Member 4, Sts 63, using minimally invasive analysis, and identify it as belonging to a male individual. We then discuss some of the current limitations of palaeoproteomics and how we can potentially overcome them. Although it is still in its infancy for Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossils, palaeoproteomics has the potential to help unravel the causes of observed morphological variation. Lastly, we strongly believe that the involvement of African researchers at all levels of this research, including leadership, is of great importance.
Significance:
We have successfully determined the biological sex of an Australopithecus africanus specimen (Sts 63) from Sterkfontein Member 4 with the age range of 3.5 to 2.01 Ma, with a high degree of confidence, and we have assessed the extent of protein preservation. These discoveries hold significant implications for our understanding of sexual dimorphism and intraspecies variation as observed in African Plio-Pleistocene hominins.
Open data set : http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org (identifier PXD054431)
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-593b74ece4c7421ab672d874581ba7e3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-593b74ece4c7421ab672d874581ba7e32025-02-07T08:28:53ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892025-02-011211/210.17159/sajs.2025/18571Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sitesPalesa P. Madupe0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5514-5221Fazeelah Munir1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2923-3257Marc Dickinson2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0465-1612Alberto J. Taurozzi3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0378-1626Meaghan Mackie4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0763-7592Mirriam Tawane5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5265-7846Catherine Mollereau6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1543-5624Nomawethu Hlazo7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5495-1790Kirsty Penkman8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6226-9799Lauren Schroeder9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6406-8096Clément Zanolli10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5617-1613Jesper V. Olsen11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4747-4938Rebecca R. Ackermann12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8757-6878Enrico Cappellini13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7885-78111.Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2.Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Chemistry, University of York, York, United KingdomDepartment of Chemistry, University of York, York, United KingdomGlobe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark1.Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2.Proteomics Program, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkNational Heritage Council, Pretoria, South AfricaResearch Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre of Integrative Biology (CBI), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France1.Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; 2.Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Chemistry, University of York, York, United Kingdom1.Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; 2.Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, CanadaFrom Prehistory to Today: Culture, Environment and Anthropology (PACEA), National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, FranceProteomics Program, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark1.Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; 2.Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaGlobe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark The southern African Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene hominin record is abundant and exhibits a high taxonomic diversity with three genera represented: Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. Hominin fossil diversity and variation are often contextualised within other fossil assemblages or modern/extant counterparts. However, the incompleteness of the fossil record, sample selection bias and taphonomic condition of the specimens themselves constrain interpretations of diversity and variation within and between species. Thus, species identification and the nature of the observed variation are frequently debated. Palaeoproteomics can help improve our understanding of taxonomic variation, as demonstrated by the recently generated proteome of Paranthropus specimens from Swartkrans. Here, we demonstrate protein preservation for an A. africanus specimen from Sterkfontein Member 4, Sts 63, using minimally invasive analysis, and identify it as belonging to a male individual. We then discuss some of the current limitations of palaeoproteomics and how we can potentially overcome them. Although it is still in its infancy for Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossils, palaeoproteomics has the potential to help unravel the causes of observed morphological variation. Lastly, we strongly believe that the involvement of African researchers at all levels of this research, including leadership, is of great importance. Significance: We have successfully determined the biological sex of an Australopithecus africanus specimen (Sts 63) from Sterkfontein Member 4 with the age range of 3.5 to 2.01 Ma, with a high degree of confidence, and we have assessed the extent of protein preservation. These discoveries hold significant implications for our understanding of sexual dimorphism and intraspecies variation as observed in African Plio-Pleistocene hominins. Open data set : http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org (identifier PXD054431) https://sajs.co.za/article/view/18571Sterkfonteinsex identificationParanthropushominins |
| spellingShingle | Palesa P. Madupe Fazeelah Munir Marc Dickinson Alberto J. Taurozzi Meaghan Mackie Mirriam Tawane Catherine Mollereau Nomawethu Hlazo Kirsty Penkman Lauren Schroeder Clément Zanolli Jesper V. Olsen Rebecca R. Ackermann Enrico Cappellini Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites South African Journal of Science Sterkfontein sex identification Paranthropus hominins |
| title | Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites |
| title_full | Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites |
| title_fullStr | Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites |
| title_short | Results from an Australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for South African Plio-Pleistocene fossil sites |
| title_sort | results from an australopithecus africanus dental enamel fragment confirm the potential of palaeoproteomics for south african plio pleistocene fossil sites |
| topic | Sterkfontein sex identification Paranthropus hominins |
| url | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/18571 |
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