Ancient Plant Genomics in Archaeology, Herbaria, and the Environment

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewpeer-review

The ancient DNA revolution of the past 35 years has driven an explosion in the breadth, nuance, and diversity of questions that are approachable using ancient biomolecules, and plant research has been a constant, indispensable facet of these developments. Using archaeological, paleontological, and herbarium plant tissues, researchers have probed plant domestication and dispersal, plant evolution and ecology, paleoenvironmental composition and dynamics, and other topics across related disciplines. Here, we review the development of the ancient DNA discipline and the role of plant research in its progress and refinement. We summarize our understanding of long-term plant DNA preservation and the characteristics of degraded DNA. In addition, we discuss challenges in ancient DNA recovery and analysis and the laboratory and bioinformatic strategies used to mitigate them. Finally, we review recent applications of ancient plant genomic research.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAnnual Review of Plant Biology
Volume71
Pages (from-to)605-629
Number of pages25
ISSN1543-5008
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

    Research areas

  • ancient plant DNA, archaeobotany, archaeogenomics, environmental ancient DNA, herbarium collections, paleogenomics

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