HR: 11:20h
AN: PP32B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Ancient dirt DNA
AU: * Willerslev, E
EM: ewillerslev@bi.ku.dk
AF: Eske Willerslev, Department of Biology University of Copenhagen Universitetsparken 15, Copenhagen Ø, 2100, Denmark
AB: In the past two decades, ancient DNA research has progressed from the retrieval of small fragments of mitochondrial DNA from a few late Holocene specimens, to large-scale studies of ancient populations, phenotypically important nuclear loci, and even whole genomic studies of extinct species. However, the field is still regularly marred by erroneous reports, which underestimate the extent of contamination within laboratories and samples themselves. An improved understanding of these processes and the effects of damage on ancient DNA templates has started to provide a more robust basis for research. Recent methodological advances have included the discoveries of DNA preserved in ancient sediments, coprolites, and fossil ice (Ancient Dirt DNA). These findings promise to make possible the reconstructions of entire ecosystems through time and allow for studies of past population genetics in cases where fossils are rare. The advantages and pitfalls connected to the Ancient Dirt DNA approach will be discussed as will recently obtained data relating to Greenland environmental history, long-term bacterial survival and the first human migration into the Americas.
DE: 9805 Instruments useful in three or more fields
SC: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology [PP]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting