The Year of the Wisent

Abstract

Delving into European prehistory, two recent studies analyze ancient DNA from bison species depicted by our ancestors on the walls of their caves. The DNA tells a story of migrations driven by climate change but leaves some mystery clouding the genetic descent and climate preference of the still-extant wisent, otherwise known as the European bison. See research articles: https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-016-0317-7http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13158