Comparing Ancient DNA Preservation in Petrous Bone and Tooth Cementum.

ABSTRACT: Large-scale genomic analyses of ancient human populations have become feasible partly due to refined sampling methods. The inner part of petrous bones and the cementum layer in teeth roots are currently recognized as the best substrates for such research. We present a comparative analysis of DNA preservation in these two substrates obtained from the same human skulls, across a range of different ages and preservation environments. Both substrates display significantly higher endogenous DNA content (average of 16.4% and 40.0% for teeth and petrous bones, respectively) than parietal skull bone (average of 2.2%). Despite sample-to-sample variation, petrous bone overall performs better than tooth cementum (p = 0.001). This difference, however, is driven largely by a cluster of viking skeletons

SUBMITTER: Hansen HB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5271384 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature