Metagenomics to paleogenomics: large-scale sequencing of mammoth DNA.
We sequenced 28 million base pairs of DNA in a metagenomics approach, using a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) sample from Siberia. As a result of exceptional sample preservation and the use of a recently developed emulsion polymerase chain reaction and pyrosequencing technique, 13 million base pairs (45.4%) of the sequencing reads were identified as mammoth DNA. Sequence identity between our data and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was 98.55%, consistent with a paleontologically based divergence date of 5 to 6 million years. The sample includes a surprisingly small diversity of environmental DNAs. The high percentage of endogenous DNA recoverable from this single mammoth would allow for completion of its genome, unleashing the field of paleogenomics.
Poinar
Hendrik N
HN
McMaster Ancient DNA Center, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton ON, L8S 4L9 Canada. poinarh@mcmaster.ca
Schwarz
Carsten
C
Qi
Ji
J
Shapiro
Beth
B
Macphee
Ross D E
RD
Buigues
Bernard
B
Tikhonov
Alexei
A
Huson
Daniel H
DH
Tomsho
Lynn P
LP
Auch
Alexander
A
Rampp
Markus
M
Miller
Webb
W
Schuster
Stephan C
SC
D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D019295:Computational Biology; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics; D004606:Elephants / Q000235:genetics*; D005580:Fossils; D015723:Gene Library; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D008334:Mandible / Q000737:chemistry*; D010163:Paleontology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012800:Siberia
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D045303:Cytochromes b