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A systematic investigation of human DNA preservation in medieval skeletons

View ORCID ProfileCody Parker, Adam B. Rohrlach, Susanne Friederich, Sarah Nagel, View ORCID ProfileMatthias Meyer, Johannes Krause, Kirsten I. Bos, Wolfgang Haak
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.20.106971
Cody Parker
1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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  • For correspondence: parker@shh.mpg.de bos@shh.mpg.de haak@shh.mpg.de krause@shh.mpg.de
Adam B. Rohrlach
1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
2ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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Susanne Friederich
3Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle a. d. Saale, Germany
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Sarah Nagel
4Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Matthias Meyer
4Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Johannes Krause
1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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  • For correspondence: parker@shh.mpg.de bos@shh.mpg.de haak@shh.mpg.de krause@shh.mpg.de
Kirsten I. Bos
1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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  • For correspondence: parker@shh.mpg.de bos@shh.mpg.de haak@shh.mpg.de krause@shh.mpg.de
Wolfgang Haak
1Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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  • For correspondence: parker@shh.mpg.de bos@shh.mpg.de haak@shh.mpg.de krause@shh.mpg.de
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Abstract

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses necessitate the destructive sampling of archaeological material. Currently the dense inner portion of the petrous pyramid, the location of the skull that houses the inner ear, is the most sought after skeletal element for molecular analyses of ancient humans as it has been shown to yield high amounts of endogenous DNA. Destructive sampling of the petrous pyramid, assuming its recovery, is often not recommended for highly valued specimens. To investigate alternatives, we present a survey of human aDNA preservation for each of ten skeletal elements in a skeletal collection from Medieval Germany. Through comparison of human DNA content and quality we confirm best performance of the petrous pyramid and identify seven additional sampling locations across four skeletal elements that yield adequate aDNA for most applications in human palaeogenetics. Our study provides a better perspective on DNA preservation across the human skeleton and takes a further step toward the more responsible use of ancient materials in human aDNA studies.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Adam B. Rohrlach: rohrlach{at}shh.mpg.de, Susanne Friederich: sfriederich{at}lda.stk.sachsen-anhalt.de, Sarah Nagel: sarah_nagel{at}eva.mpg.de, Matthias Meyer: mmeyer{at}eva.mpg.de

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted May 22, 2020.
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A systematic investigation of human DNA preservation in medieval skeletons
Cody Parker, Adam B. Rohrlach, Susanne Friederich, Sarah Nagel, Matthias Meyer, Johannes Krause, Kirsten I. Bos, Wolfgang Haak
bioRxiv 2020.05.20.106971; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.20.106971
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A systematic investigation of human DNA preservation in medieval skeletons
Cody Parker, Adam B. Rohrlach, Susanne Friederich, Sarah Nagel, Matthias Meyer, Johannes Krause, Kirsten I. Bos, Wolfgang Haak
bioRxiv 2020.05.20.106971; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.20.106971

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