McMaster Ancient DNA News

Here we show that nuclear DNA can be recovered from non-permafrost remains, but amplifying one multicopy and three single-copy nuclear gene fragments from a coprolite stemming from the extinct Shasta ground sloth. Nuclear sequences such can open up many novel opportunities such as finer resolution in phylogenies and the characterization of genes behind individual traits.

A summary of 10 criteria to ensure replication and authentication of ancient DNA recovered from ancient and forensic samples.

Since fecal remnants are probably one of the major components of dry cave sediments, we decided to extract ancient DNA from the sediment of Rampart Cave, Arizaona (dated to approximately 11 thousand years old). Amplification of the extracted DNA with both 12S and 16S primers identified a variety of taxa including the Shasta ground sloth.

We sequenced a total of 8,859 DNA molecules encompassing approximately 1.9 million base pairs of the chipanzee genome, and compared them to their homologous human DNA sequences, comparing the differences between sites and types of substitutions.

We combined both ancient DNA and mascroscopic identification of 11,700 year old middens in the Atacama Desert, Chile to show that the past climate was much more diverse and humid in the past. Additionally, the primary rodent responsible for the midden was identified as an ancestral Phyllotis species. Notably, modern Phyllotis can only be found 100km to the north of the sampling location suggesting at least a small range shift.

A review of the field of ancient DNA, focusing on the technical pitfalls and stringency needed to ensure reproduciblity and authenticity of results.

We analyzed several early oral polio vaccine pools to test the "OPV/AIDS hypothesis". Our analysis found no evidence for the presence of chimpanzee DNA, but did find evidence of monkey DNA.

Here we report the DNA anlysis of three 2,000 year old Native American paleofecal samples from Hinds Cave, Texas. Analysis shows that these individuals consumed 2-4 different animal species and 4-8 plant species during a short time period. Furthermore, this work highlights paleofecal remains as an important source of ancient DNA.

We extracted DNA from five coprolites dated between 11,000 years ago and 28,500 years ago all excavated in Gypsum Cave. All coprolites contained DNA identifying the defector as Shasta ground sloth. Amplification for the rbcL gene in chloroplast also shows that the environment at the end of the Pleistocene was much drier than it was in the past.