Mammoth Hair Yields DNA
- From: Horace LaBadie <hwlabadiejr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:32:55 -0400
Not exactly archaeology, but...
Both nuclear and mtDNA extracted from hair.
<http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12703-shampooed-hair-reveals-mammo
th-dna.html>
<http://tinyurl.com/yvwbtp>
"'Shampooed' hair reveals mammoth DNA
Hair samples taken from woolly mammoths that died tens of thousands of
years ago during the Pleistocene epoch have yielded surprisingly rich
genetic information, researchers report.
The findings show DNA can remain well protected inside a strand of hair
for thousands of years. Based on these results, experts now believe it
will be possible to sequence the genes of thousands of museum specimens
without having to grind up the animals' precious bones.
Scientists have previously published DNA sequences for extinct species
such as the mammoth. However, until now, they have generally relied on
extracting genetic material from the bones of preserved specimens. It
was assumed that DNA within hair was far too degraded and hard to
extract to provide reliable information.
To explore the potential of extracting ancient DNA from ancient hair,
Webb Miller at Penn State University in Pennsylvania, US, and colleagues
examined strands taken from 10 woolly mammoths excavated from northern
Siberia, and that are between 12,000 and 50,000 years old."
[...]
""The interesting part is the use of hair that's been sitting around in
museums for some time," says Hendrik Poinar of McMaster University in
Ontario, Canada.
He notes that the analysis included the first mammoth specimen ever
discovered, the so-called Adams' mammoth, which was dug out of
permafrost between 1804 and 1806 and sat at room temperature in a
Russian museum for two centuries.
Miller hopes to use DNA from hair to understand the evolutionary
relationship between extinct species, including specimens collected by
Charles Darwin."
.
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