Analysis of ancient bone DNA: techniques and applications.
The analysis of DNA from ancient bone has numerous applications in archaeology and molecular evolution. Significant amounts of genetic information can be recovered from ancient bone: mitochondrial DNA sequences of 800 base pairs have been amplified from a 750-year-old human femur by using the polymerase chain reaction. DNA recovery varies considerably between bone samples and is not dependent on the age of the specimen. We present the results of a study on a small number of bones from a mediaeval and a 17th-century cemetery in Abingdon showing the relation between gross preservation, microscopic preservation and DNA recovery.
MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, U.K.
E
E
Hagelberg
L S
LS
Bell
T
T
Allen
A
A
Boyde
S J
SJ
Jones
J B
JB
Clegg
D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005580:Fossils; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004247:DNA