Comparing the survival of osteocalcin and mtDNA in archaeological bone from four European sites
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Comparing the survival of osteocalcin and mtDNA in archaeological bone from four European sites. / Buckley, Michael; Anderung, Cecilia; Penkman, Kirsty; Raney, Brian J.; Götherström, Anders; Thomas-Oates, Jane; Collins, Matthew J.
In: Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 35, No. 6, 2008, p. 1756-1764.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing the survival of osteocalcin and mtDNA in archaeological bone from four European sites
AU - Buckley, Michael
AU - Anderung, Cecilia
AU - Penkman, Kirsty
AU - Raney, Brian J.
AU - Götherström, Anders
AU - Thomas-Oates, Jane
AU - Collins, Matthew J.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - The small mineral-binding bone protein, osteocalcin, has been applied in a number of studies on ancient bone due to predictions of its long-term stability. However, the intact protein has not been shown to survive in ancient bone devoid of DNA, which is a much more phylogenetically informative biomolecule. In this investigation, the survival of osteocalcin is directly compared to the amplification of mtDNA in a set of 34 archaeological samples from four sites throughout Europe. We also present unpublished osteocalcin sequences of seven mammalian species in addition to the 19 published sequences to highlight phylogenetic limitations of this protein. The results indicate that the intact osteocalcin molecule survives less in archaeological samples than mtDNA and is more subject to the temperature of the archaeological site. Amino acid analyses show the persistence of the dominant protein collagen in samples that failed both osteocalcin and mtDNA analyses. The implications these findings present for biomolecular species identification in archaeological and palaeontological material are that, although proteins do survive beyond ancient DNA, osteocalcin does not appear to be the most ideal target.
AB - The small mineral-binding bone protein, osteocalcin, has been applied in a number of studies on ancient bone due to predictions of its long-term stability. However, the intact protein has not been shown to survive in ancient bone devoid of DNA, which is a much more phylogenetically informative biomolecule. In this investigation, the survival of osteocalcin is directly compared to the amplification of mtDNA in a set of 34 archaeological samples from four sites throughout Europe. We also present unpublished osteocalcin sequences of seven mammalian species in addition to the 19 published sequences to highlight phylogenetic limitations of this protein. The results indicate that the intact osteocalcin molecule survives less in archaeological samples than mtDNA and is more subject to the temperature of the archaeological site. Amino acid analyses show the persistence of the dominant protein collagen in samples that failed both osteocalcin and mtDNA analyses. The implications these findings present for biomolecular species identification in archaeological and palaeontological material are that, although proteins do survive beyond ancient DNA, osteocalcin does not appear to be the most ideal target.
KW - African elephant
KW - Ancient DNA
KW - Asine
KW - Biomolecular archaeology
KW - Bushbaby
KW - Collagen
KW - Hedgehog
KW - Lerna
KW - Lesser hedgehog
KW - Opossum
KW - Osteocalcin
KW - Pig-tailed macaque
KW - Portalón
KW - Protein mass spectrometry
KW - Tree shrew
KW - Zauschwitz
KW - ZooMS
U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.022
DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.022
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:42149185732
VL - 35
SP - 1756
EP - 1764
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science
SN - 0305-4403
IS - 6
ER -
ID: 229399519