Optimization of a Minimally Invasive DNA Extraction Protocol for Teeth

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ancient DNA extraction protocols are inherently destructive and, therefore, are often controversial and problematic. For some communities, destructive processing of human remains could be perceived as a desecration of ancestors. For laboratory scientists, the destruction of samples limits the ability to replicate results. Harney et al. (2021) present a minimally destructive protocol for extracting DNA from human remains that relies on collecting DNA from the cementum of the tooth root, leaving the sample structurally intact with only minimal discoloration in most samples. However, since the cementum is the outermost layer of the root, it is prone to high levels of exogenous contamination, which significantly increases sequencing costs and decreases sequencing data quality. This study explores a potential method to optimize the Harney et al. minimally-destructive protocol by adding an additional lysis buffer exchange step prior to incubation. We tested multiple time intervals for additional buffer exchange and compared resulting library quality statistics (e.g., endogenous content, fragment length, contamination estimates). While the success of protocols always depends on sample preservation quality, the results indicate that an additional buffer exchange step has the potential to optimize DNA yields and quality from ancient and historic tooth samples.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41612.0