A 28,000 years old Cro-Magnon mtDNA sequence differs from all potentially contaminating modern sequences.
BACKGROUND
DNA sequences from ancient specimens may in fact result from undetected contamination of the ancient specimens by modern DNA, and the problem is particularly challenging in studies of human fossils. Doubts on the authenticity of the available sequences have so far hampered genetic comparisons between anatomically archaic (Neandertal) and early modern (Cro-Magnoid) Europeans.


RESULTS
We typed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region I in a 28,000 years old Cro-Magnoid individual from the Paglicci cave, in Italy (Paglicci 23) and in all the people who had contact with the sample since its discovery in 2003. The Paglicci 23 sequence, determined through the analysis of 152 clones, is the Cambridge reference sequence, and cannot possibly reflect contamination because it differs from all potentially contaminating modern sequences.


CONCLUSIONS
The Paglicci 23 individual carried a mtDNA sequence that is still common in Europe, and which radically differs from those of the almost contemporary Neandertals, demonstrating a genealogical continuity across 28,000 years, from Cro-Magnoid to modern Europeans. Because all potential sources of modern DNA contamination are known, the Paglicci 23 sample will offer a unique opportunity to get insight for the first time into the nuclear genes of early modern Europeans.
Caramelli
David
D
Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica, Università di Firenze, Firenze, Italy.
Milani
Lucio
L
Vai
Stefania
S
Modi
Alessandra
A
Pecchioli
Elena
E
Girardi
Matteo
M
Pilli
Elena
E
Lari
Martina
M
Lippi
Barbara
B
Ronchitelli
Annamaria
A
Mallegni
Francesco
F
Casoli
Antonella
A
Bertorelle
Giorgio
G
Barbujani
Guido
G
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005060:Europe; D015186:Hominidae / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010163:Paleontology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial