Metagenomics to paleogenomics: Large-scale sequencing of mammoth DNA

Hendrik N. Poinar*, Carsten Schwarz, Ji Qi, Beth Shapiro, Ross D.E. MacPhee, Bernard Buigues, Alexei Tikhonov, Daniel M. Huson, Lynn P. Tomsho, Alexander Auch, Markus Rampp, Webb Miller, Stephan C. Schuster

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

471 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We sequenced 28 million base pairs of DNA in a metagenomics approach, using a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) sample from Siberia. As a result of exceptional sample preservation and the use of a recently developed emulsion polymerase chain reaction and pyrosequencing technique, 13 million base pairs (45.4%) of the sequencing reads were identified as mammoth DNA. Sequence identity between our data and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was 98.55%, consistent with a paleontologically based divergence date of 5 to 6 million years. The sample includes a surprisingly small diversity of environmental DNAs. The high percentage of endogenous DNA recoverable from this single mammoth would allow for completion of its genome, unleashing the field of paleogenomics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)392-394
Number of pages3
JournalScience
Volume311
Issue number5759
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 20 2006
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General

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