Typing single polymorphic nucleotides in mitochondrial DNA as a way to access Middle Pleistocene DNA.
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.
Valdiosera
Cristina
C
Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, C/Sinesio Delgado 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain. cvaldiosera@isciii.es
García
Nuria
N
Dalén
Love
L
Smith
Colin
C
Kahlke
Ralf-Dietrich
RD
Lidén
Kerstin
K
Angerbjörn
Anders
A
Arsuaga
Juan Luis
JL
Götherström
Anders
A
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*
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers; D045303:Cytochromes b