Ancient DNA : the next generation – chapter and verse

As the field of ancient DNA ( aDNA ) enters its third decade, it is perhaps time to reflect on the amazing transformation that it has undergone. Early analyses of aDNA focused on mitochondrial and/or chloroplast DNA, which were abundantly available in the cell, making retrieval and reproducibility much easier. Study of mitochondrial DNA through time allows evolutionary relationships between species to be resolved, molecular clocks to be calibrated, the geographical origins of samples to be revealed, and demographic histories to be investigated. However, not until the advent of massive parallel sequencing [also know as second‐generation sequencing and next‐generation sequencing ( NGS )] was it possible to retrieve and study nuclear DNA on a more routine basis. Ancient nuclear DNA can additionally be used to identify extinct phenotypes, assess the degree of admixture, and examine selection pressures. This is a short review of what has been, and what may come, in how aDNA has influenced NGS . Although examples from archaeology are used to illustrate the impact of NGS technologies on the field, this approach has also been successfully applied to a range of disciplines, such as medicine and wildlife forensics.