DNA and bone structure preservation in medieval human skeletons

Abstract

Nader, DNA and bone structure preservation in medieval human skeletons, Forensic Science International (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint. 2015.04.005 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t AbstractMorphological and ultrastructural data from archaeological human bones are scarce, particularly data that have been correlated with information on the preservation of molecules such as DNA. Here we examine the bone structure of macroscopically wellpreserved medieval human skeletons by transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry, and the quantity and quality of DNA extracted from these skeletons. DNA technology has been increasingly used for analyzing physical evidence in archaeological forensics; however, the isolation of ancient DNA is difficult since it is highly degraded, extraction yields are low and the co-extraction of PCR inhibitors is a problem. We adapted and optimized a method that is frequently used for isolating DNA from modern samples, Chelex® 100 (Bio-Rad) extraction, for isolating DNA from archaeological human bones and teeth. The isolated DNA was analysed by real-time PCR using primers targeting the sex determining region on the Y chromosome (SRY) and STR typing using the AmpFlSTR® Identifiler PCR Amplification kit. Our results clearly show the preservation of bone matrix in medieval bones and the presence of intact osteocytes with well preserved encapsulated nuclei. In addition, we show how effective Chelex® 100 is for isolating ancient DNA from archaeological bones and teeth. This optimized method is suitable for STR typing using kits aimed specifically at degraded and difficult DNA templates since amplicons of up to 250 bp were successfully amplified.

A systematic investigation of human DNA preservation in medieval skeletons

“…Multiple investigations have demonstrated superior human aDNA preservation in the dense inner petrous pyramid, the portion of the temporal bone that houses the inner ear. This observation is based on a collection of comparative PCR 15,[17][18][19][20] and whole genome aDNA surveys [16][17][18] that were, however, limited in the number of individuals and/or skeletal elements tested. Despite the absence of a systematic comparative analysis of preservation across the skeleton, aDNA obtained from the petrous portions of human remains has been utilized to great success in the contexts of both ancient human population genetics [21][22][23][24][25] and forensic investigations 12,24,25 .…”

A systematic investigation of human DNA preservation in medieval skeletons

“…Multiple investigations have demonstrated superior human aDNA preservation in the dense inner petrous pyramid, the portion of the temporal bone that houses the inner ear. This observation is based on a collection of comparative PCR 15,[17][18][19][20] and whole genome aDNA surveys [16][17][18]21,22 that were often limited in either the number of individuals and/or skeletal elements tested. Despite the paucity of a systematic comparative analysis of preservation across the skeleton, aDNA obtained from the petrous portions of human remains has been utilized to great success in the contexts of both ancient human population genetics (e.g.…”

Kinship Analysis of 5th- to 6th-Century Skeletons of Romanized Indigenous People from the Bled–Pristava Archaeological Site

“…The petrous bone has unique characteristics, with its own macrostructure (consisting of thick compact bone and very little trabecular bone), highly mineralized apatite, a significant network of vascular canals, a high degree of cellularity, and an absence of remodeling [15,16,36,42]. In addition to the petrous part of the temporal bone, teeth have also produced exemplary results and are widely used in studies of ancient DNA [14,31,38,47,71]. Remains from the Ice Age Hajdinjak et al, [30], Middle Bronze Age skeletons [33], and Neolithic human remains [37] have been analyzed using teeth.…”