Brief communication: ancient DNA prospects from Sri Lankan highland dry caves support an emerging global pattern.
Recovery of ancient DNA has become an increasingly important tool in elucidating the origins of past populations and their relationships. Unfortunately, many human skeletal remains do not contain original DNA amplifiable by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amino-acid racemization has proven to be a useful predictor of ancient DNA results. We analyzed the relative levels of amino-acid preservation and racemization of human samples from two highland dry-cave sites in Sri Lanka, and found that amino-acid enantiomer ratios were inconsistent with successful authentic DNA recovery. A review of the literature reveals that these results are consistent with a global pattern of poor DNA preservation in the tropics.
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. far4@cornell.edu
Floyd A
FA
Reed
Elias J
EJ
Kontanis
Kenneth A R
KA
Kennedy
Charles F
CF
Aquadro
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008834:Microclimate; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D013188:Sri Lanka; D014329:Tropical Climate
D000596:Amino Acids; D004247:DNA