Optimal Ancient DNA Yields from the Inner Ear Part of the Human Petrous Bone

作者：Ron Pinhasi, Daniel Fernandes, Kendra Sirak, Mario Novak, Sarah Connell, Songül Alpaslan-Roodenberg, Fokke Gerritsen, Vyacheslav Moiseyev, Andrey Gromov, Pál Raczky, Alexandra Anders, Michael Pietrusewsky, Gary O. Rollefson, Marija Jovanovic, Trinhhoang Hiep, Guy Bar‐Oz, Marc Oxenham, Hirofumi Matsumura, Michael Hofreiter · 发表于：PLoS ONE · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0129102 · 被引用次数：502 · 研究领域：Forensic and Genetic Research、Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies、Molecular Biology Techniques and Applications

The invention and development of next or second generation sequencing methods has resulted in a dramatic transformation of ancient DNA research and allowed shotgun sequencing of entire genomes from fossil specimens. However, although there are exceptions, most fossil specimens contain only low (~ 1% or less) percentages of endogenous DNA. The only skeletal element for which a systematically higher endogenous DNA content compared to other skeletal elements has been shown is the petrous part of the temporal bone. In this study we investigate whether (a) different parts of the petrous bone of archaeological human specimens give different percentages of endogenous DNA yields, (b) there are significant differences in average DNA read lengths, damage patterns and total DNA concentration, and (c) it is possible to obtain endogenous ancient DNA from petrous bones from hot environments. We carried out intra-petrous comparisons for ten petrous bones from specimens from Holocene archaeological contexts across Eurasia dated between 10,000-1,800 calibrated years before present (cal. BP). We obtained shotgun DNA sequences from three distinct areas within the petrous: a spongy part of trabecular bone (part A), the dense part of cortical bone encircling the osseous inner ear, or otic capsule (part B), and the dense part within the otic capsule (part C). Our results confirm that dense bone parts of the petrous bone can provide high endogenous aDNA yields and indicate that endogenous DNA fract...