Advances in technology Without the technology to
accelerating our ability to compare large, complex DNA sequencing data sets and interpreting its meaning. Chances are, then, that in a few years mtDNA sequencing will disclose even more disruptive ancestral information – and allow us to see ourselves
and our histories more clearly.
*This opinion piece by Prof Debra Meyer was published in ‘The Conversation’ on September 1, 2019. *The views expressed in the article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Johannesburg.
sequence mitochondrial DNA, I would not know of my ancestral links to slavery. Artificial intelligence is making sequencing faster, cheaper and more accurate, while machine learning algorithms that improve with experience are BECAUSE MTDNA DOES NOT CHANGE MUCH OVER TIME,
Figure 1
MATERNAL LINEAGE INFORMATION FROM THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO BECOMES ACCESSIBLE TODAY.
Routes used by the VOC slave ships juxtaposed against the predicted movements of Haplogroup M. Source 1: https:/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_M_(mtDNA)#/media/File:Peopling_of_eurasia.jpg . Source 2:https://slavery.iziko.org.za/sites/default/files/images/2015-11-06/DetailedMap.jpg
Figure 2
EUROPE
ASIA
N
M2
AFRICA
L3
India Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
AUSTRALIA
L0
Some of the VOC’s Slave Routes Movement of haplogroup M, relevant to this discussion.
17
ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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