Fossil avian eggshell preserves ancient DNA

Charlotte L Oskam, James Seymour Haile, Emma McLay, Paul Rigby, Morten Erik Allentoft, Maia E. Olsen, Camilla Bengtsson, Gifford H. Miller, Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Christopher Jacomb, Richard Walter, Alexander Baynes, Joe Dortch, Michael Parker-Pearson, Tom Gilbert, Richard N. Holdaway, Eske Willerslev, Michael Bunce

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    105 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Owing to exceptional biomolecule preservation, fossil avian eggshell has been used extensively in geochronology and palaeodietary studies. Here, we show, to our knowledge, for the first time that fossil eggshell is a previously unrecognized source of ancient DNA (aDNA). We describe the successful isolation and amplification of DNA from fossil eggshell up to 19 ka old. aDNA was successfully characterized from eggshell obtained from New Zealand (extinct moa and ducks), Madagascar (extinct elephant birds) and Australia (emu and owl). Our data demonstrate excellent preservation of the nucleic acids, evidenced by retrieval of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from many of the samples. Using confocal microscopy and quantitative PCR, this study critically evaluates approaches to maximize DNA recovery from powdered eggshell. Our quantitative PCR experiments also demonstrate that moa eggshell has approximately 125 times lower bacterial load than bone, making it a highly suitable substrate for high-throughput sequencing approaches. Importantly, the preservation of DNA in Pleistocene eggshell from Australia and Holocene deposits from Madagascar indicates that eggshell is an excellent substrate for the long-term preservation of DNA in warmer climates. The successful recovery of DNA from this substrate has implications in a number of scientific disciplines; most notably archaeology and palaeontology, where genotypes and/or DNA-based species identifications can add significantly to our understanding of diets, environments, past biodiversity and evolutionary processes.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalRoyal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
    Volume277
    Issue number1690
    Pages (from-to)1991-2000
    Number of pages10
    ISSN0962-8452
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 7 Jul 2010

    Keywords

    • Animals
    • Australia
    • Birds
    • DNA
    • DNA, Mitochondrial
    • Dromaiidae
    • Ducks
    • Egg Shell
    • Extinction, Biological
    • Fossils
    • Madagascar
    • Microscopy, Confocal
    • Molecular Sequence Data
    • New Zealand
    • Paleontology
    • Polymerase Chain Reaction
    • Sequence Analysis, DNA
    • Strigiformes

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