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Unveiling the Ecological Applications of Ancient DNA from Mollusk Shells

Der Sarkissian, Clio ; Möller, Per LU orcid ; Hofman,, Courtney ; Ilsøe, Peter ; Rick, Torben ; Schiøtte, Tom ; Vinther Sørensen, Martin ; Dalén, Love and Orlando, Ludovic (2020) In Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8.
Abstract
The shells of marine mollusks represent promising metagenomic archives of the past, adding to bones, teeth, hairs, and environmental samples most commonly examined in ancient DNA research. Seminal work has established that DNA recovery from marine mollusks depends on their shell microstructure, preservation and disease state, and that authentic ancient DNA could be retrieved from specimens as old as 7,000 years. Here, we significantly push the temporal limit for shell DNA recovery to 100,000 years with the successful genetic characterization of one Portlandia arctica and one Mytilus mussel sample collected within a dated permafrost layer from the Taimyr Peninsula, Russia. We expand the analysis of ancient DNA in carbonate shells to a... (More)
The shells of marine mollusks represent promising metagenomic archives of the past, adding to bones, teeth, hairs, and environmental samples most commonly examined in ancient DNA research. Seminal work has established that DNA recovery from marine mollusks depends on their shell microstructure, preservation and disease state, and that authentic ancient DNA could be retrieved from specimens as old as 7,000 years. Here, we significantly push the temporal limit for shell DNA recovery to 100,000 years with the successful genetic characterization of one Portlandia arctica and one Mytilus mussel sample collected within a dated permafrost layer from the Taimyr Peninsula, Russia. We expand the analysis of ancient DNA in carbonate shells to a larger number of genera (Arctica, Cernuella, Crassostrea, Dreissena, Haliotis, Lymnaea, Margaritifera, Pecten, Ruditapes, Venerupis) from marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. We demonstrate that DNA from ancient shells can provide sufficient resolution for taxonomic, phylogenetic and/or population assignment. Our results confirm mollusk shells as long-term DNA reservoirs, opening new avenues for the investigation of environmental changes, commercial species management, biological invasion, and extinction. This is especially timely in light of modern threats to biodiversity and ecosystems. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
volume
8
article number
37
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85082682341
ISSN
2296-701X
DOI
10.3389/fevo.2020.00037
project
Taymyr revisited - a quest for former Eurasian Ice Sheets margins and megafauna extinction during the last glacial cycles
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ab8a3870-cd22-4190-970c-ed31d195d97b
date added to LUP
2019-12-29 14:31:27
date last changed
2022-04-18 19:33:32
@article{ab8a3870-cd22-4190-970c-ed31d195d97b,
  abstract     = {{The shells of marine mollusks represent promising metagenomic archives of the past, adding to bones, teeth, hairs, and environmental samples most commonly examined in ancient DNA research. Seminal work has established that DNA recovery from marine mollusks depends on their shell microstructure, preservation and disease state, and that authentic ancient DNA could be retrieved from specimens as old as 7,000 years. Here, we significantly push the temporal limit for shell DNA recovery to 100,000 years with the successful genetic characterization of one Portlandia arctica and one Mytilus mussel sample collected within a dated permafrost layer from the Taimyr Peninsula, Russia. We expand the analysis of ancient DNA in carbonate shells to a larger number of genera (Arctica, Cernuella, Crassostrea, Dreissena, Haliotis, Lymnaea, Margaritifera, Pecten, Ruditapes, Venerupis) from marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments. We demonstrate that DNA from ancient shells can provide sufficient resolution for taxonomic, phylogenetic and/or population assignment. Our results confirm mollusk shells as long-term DNA reservoirs, opening new avenues for the investigation of environmental changes, commercial species management, biological invasion, and extinction. This is especially timely in light of modern threats to biodiversity and ecosystems.}},
  author       = {{Der Sarkissian, Clio and Möller, Per and Hofman,, Courtney and Ilsøe, Peter and Rick, Torben and Schiøtte, Tom and Vinther Sørensen, Martin and Dalén, Love and Orlando, Ludovic}},
  issn         = {{2296-701X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution}},
  title        = {{Unveiling the Ecological Applications of Ancient DNA from Mollusk Shells}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00037}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fevo.2020.00037}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}