title: DNA extraction and amplification from contemporary Polynesian bark-cloth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Paper mulberry has been used for thousands of years in Asia and Oceania for making paper and bark-cloth, respectively. Museums around the world hold valuable collections of Polynesian bark-cloth. Genetic analysis of the plant fibers from which the textiles were made may answer a number of questions of interest related to provenance, authenticity or species used in the manufacture of these textiles. Recovery of nucleic acids from paper mulberry bark-cloth has not been reported before.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe a simple method for the extraction of PCR-amplifiable DNA from small samples of contemporary Polynesian bark-cloth (tapa) using two types of nuclear markers. We report the amplification of about 300 bp sequences of the ITS1 region and of a microsatellite marker.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sufficient DNA was retrieved from all bark-cloth samples to permit successful PCR amplification. This method shows a means of obtaining useful genetic information from modern bark-cloth samples and opens perspectives for the analyses of small fragments derived from ethnographic materials.
authors: Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas, La Serena, Chile.
authors: Ximena
authors: X
authors: Moncada
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Payacán
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Arriaza
authors: Sergio
authors: S
authors: Lobos
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Seelenfreund
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Seelenfreund
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D031625:Morus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D009144:Museums; D010209:Paper; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004247:DNA