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DNA FROM HUMAN ANCIENT BACTERIA: A NOVEL SOURCE OF GENETIC EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL DENTAL CALCULUS
Author(s) -
DE LA FUENTE C.,
FLORES S.,
MORAGA M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2012.00707.x
Subject(s) - ancient dna , archaeology , biology , bacteria , dna , evolutionary biology , paleontology , genetics , geography , population , medicine , environmental health
We report a molecular methodology to obtain and analyse ancient bacterial DNA from archaeological dental calculus. Recent and archaeological DNA samples, as old as 4000 bp , were successfully extracted and amplified with species‐specific PCR primers. We propose this approach in order to: detect the presence of specific bacterial species infecting past human populations; compare the composition of ancient oral microbiomes among human populations; and analyse the genetic variability and covariation of bacteria and human host populations. Genomic analysis of bacteria from dental calculus is a promising source of evidence for palaeopathological and micro‐evolutionary studies, focused either on micro‐organisms or their human hosts.