title: metagenome of Codex Missale Sinaiticum 1
design: The extraction of DNA from the small pieces of parchments as well as from the eraser fragments collected from the codex Assemanianus was performed in a separated laboratory dedicated only to the extraction of old DNA. DNA was extracted by a combination of the DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit (Qiagene) followed by purification through the Qiagen MinElute cleanup (Qiagene). Briefly, the samples were transferred to a low binding Eppendorf tube. 180 l Buffer ATL (Lysis buffer) + 20 l Prot K were added, mixed by vortex and incubated o/n (~18h) in a thermo-block at 56oC and 600 rpm. On the next day, samples were centrifuged at 13000 rpm for 5 min and the supernatant (180-200 l) was transferred to a new low binding Eppendorf tube. Buffer PB from the Qiagen MinElute cleanup kit was added (5x Vol.) and the protocol was further applied following the recommendation of manufacturers. The DNA was eluted from the mini-columns using 20 l of preheated EB buffer (65oC). The quality and quantity of the resulting DNA was measured with a Nanodrop spectrophotometer and a Qubit fluorometer (using the dsDNA HS Assay Kit), respectivel