title: Typing single polymorphic nucleotides in mitochondrial DNA as a way to access Middle Pleistocene DNA.
abstract: In this study, we have used a technique designed to target short fragments containing informative mitochondrial substitutions to extend the temporal limits of DNA recovery and study the molecular phylogeny of Ursus deningeri. We present a cladistic analysis using DNA recovered from 400 kyr old U. deningeri remains, which demonstrates U. deningeri's relation to Ursus spelaeus. This study extends the limits of recovery from skeletal remains by almost 300 kyr. Plant material from permafrost environments has yielded DNA of this age in earlier studies, and our data suggest that DNA in teeth from cave environments may be equally well preserved.
authors.affiliation: Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, C/Sinesio Delgado 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain. cvaldiosera@isciii.es
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valdiosera
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Love
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dalén
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Ralf-Dietrich
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kahlke
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lidén
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Angerbjörn
authors.forename: Juan Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Arsuaga
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Götherström
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D005580:Fossils; D005819:Genetic Markers; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D001503:Ursidae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers; D045303:Cytochromes b