Testosterone in ancient hair from an extinct species

Koren, Lee; Matas, Devorah; Pečnerová, Patrícia; Dalén, Love; Tikhonov, Alexei; Gilbert, Martin; Wynne‐Edwards, Katherine E.

doi:10.1111/pala.12391

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The material of the current case study, however, was severely fragmented and unidentified. Yet, the findings indicate that the methods applied are still suitable under these conditions in line with other studies involving the recovery of human material from polar climates [12][13][14].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

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Forensic investigation of microtraces on an item of Dutch eighteenth century clothing in the Rijksmuseum collection

et al. 2022

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Most garments in museum collections have belonged to people of high societal status. Clothing of the common people, however, has rarely been preserved. Because of this, the conservation of such rare items is of special importance. The current study focuses on such an object from the Rijksmuseum collection; a pair of eighteenth century breeches that were retrieved from an anonymous grave on Spitsbergen. As these breeches contain several unidentified materials, it is unclear how best to conduct the conservation of the object. The identification of trace material plays a key role within criminal law and therefore, it is hypothesized that a forensic approach could provide a suitable framework within this case of cultural heritage as well. After forensic examination, trace material was analyzed using a microscopy-based approach and was found to be mainly of biological origin. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy indicated the presence of human skin remains. It was concluded that a modern forensic approach can successfully be applied to a historical object within cultural heritage and can assist decision-making regarding possible future conservation of the object. The systematic application of the forensic methodology was found to be appropriate with little to no modification to classify and identify trace materials, but further improvements could be made. The current work should be seen as a starting point that allows for more questions regarding museum objects to be answered in a forensic manner, including aspects such as authenticity, the chain of custody, the context, original use and object conservation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…The low temperatures and the acidic condition of the soil further contribute to a favorable environment for material preservation [1,10]. This is also supported by studies that examined ancient hair recovered from permafrost [12,13], or the findings of ice-mummies [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Forensic investigation of microtraces on an item of Dutch eighteenth century clothing in the Rijksmuseum collection

et al. 2022

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“…To address this issue, Koren and Geffen () compared testosterone measurements in hair using LC‐MS/MS and EIA and found a strong correlation ( r = 0.84, p < 0.01), suggesting that testosterone immunoreactivity measured by EIA was proportional to the actual testosterone levels in hair. A similar approach of confirming the presence of a steroid through initially testing by LC‐MS/MS with subsequent analysis by immunoassay (Bryan, Adams, et al, ; Koren, Matas, et al., ) should be applied more widely in other studies of wildlife hair.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, hair is practical for logistical reasons as it can be stored in paper envelopes at room temperature for long periods. Steroid hormones in hair appear to be stable for months to years or more (Macbeth, Cattet, Stenhouse, Gibeau, & Janz, ), presenting opportunities to sample archival specimens in museums or other collections (e.g., Bechshøft et al., ; Bryan et al., ; Koren, Matas, et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards the validation of endogenous steroid testing in wildlife hair

Koren

Bryan

Matas

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. Hair analysis is emerging as a popular tool to examine stress and reproduction hormone levels in wild mammals. The reliability of this approach, however, depends on an understanding of steroid hormone incorporation into hair as well as appropriate validations.2. We reviewed studies that have examined steroid hormones in wildlife hair with the goal of summarizing the analytical, physiological, and biological evidence that this approach is meaningful. Accordingly, we differentiated among validations aimed at evaluating the reliability of the analytical method versus those designed to assess whether hormone levels in hair reflect physiologically meaningful processes in the target species.3. Our literature survey revealed that endogenous steroids have been examined in hair from 40 species of nonhuman animals across seven mammalian classes.Although the majority (85%) of 72 studies reported analytical validations of the method, physiological validations have only been reported for five species.Moreover, results of physiological validations were inconsistent among studies.This highlights the need for further research, carefully designed to differentiate between the multiple purported models of steroid incorporation into hair in species with different types of hair and different hair growth patterns. 4. To complement our review of published studies, we present new data supporting a positive relationship between levels of the steroid, cortisol, in hair and blood across eight mammalian species. In addition, we present novel results from a laboratory-based study showing variable hair growth in genetically identical laboratory mice that were kept under controlled conditions. 5. Synthesis and applications. Collectively, this Review reveals substantial progress towards the validation of stress hormone assays in hair from a variety of wildlife species. Further validations of reproductive steroids, combined with appropriate physiological validations, would expand the potential applications of hair analyses 548 | Journal of Applied Ecology KOREN Et al.

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“…To study behaviour, palaeodiet, and social structure, stable isotope analysis has been a popular tool. Nevertheless, studies have also used biases in sex ratios derived from genomic data [92], comparisons of the ratio of mitochondrial and nuclear coalescent dates [93], and testosterone from ancient hair shafts to study social structure and life history traits in woolly mammoths [94]. Timelines of taxa in a palaeoenvironmental context.…”

Section: Woolly Mammothmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Faunal History Revealed by Interdisciplinary Biomolecular Approaches

et al. 2021

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Starting four decades ago, studies have examined the ecology and evolutionary dynamics of populations and species using short mitochondrial DNA fragments and stable isotopes. Through technological and analytical advances, the methods and biomolecules at our disposal have increased significantly to now include lipids, whole genomes, proteomes, and even epigenomes. At an unprecedented resolution, the study of ancient biomolecules has made it possible for us to disentangle the complex processes that shaped the ancient faunal diversity across millennia, with the potential to aid in implicating probable causes of species extinction and how humans impacted the genetics and ecology of wild and domestic species. However, even now, few studies explore interdisciplinary biomolecular approaches to reveal ancient faunal diversity dynamics in relation to environmental and anthropogenic impact. This review will approach how biomolecules have been implemented in a broad variety of topics and species, from the extinct Pleistocene megafauna to ancient wild and domestic stocks, as well as how their future use has the potential to offer an enhanced understanding of drivers of past faunal diversity on Earth.

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Testosterone in ancient hair from an extinct species

Cited by 11 publications

References 31 publications

Forensic investigation of microtraces on an item of Dutch eighteenth century clothing in the Rijksmuseum collection

Forensic investigation of microtraces on an item of Dutch eighteenth century clothing in the Rijksmuseum collection

Towards the validation of endogenous steroid testing in wildlife hair

Ancient Faunal History Revealed by Interdisciplinary Biomolecular Approaches

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