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Review
. 2023 Jan 16;14(1):234.
doi: 10.3390/genes14010234.

Methodological Changes in the Field of Paleogenetics

Mikołaj Danielewski  1 , Joanna Żuraszek  2 , Aleksandra Zielińska  2 , Karl-Heinz Herzig  1   3 , Ryszard Słomski  2 , Jarosław Walkowiak  1 , Karolina Wielgus  1
Affiliations
Review

Methodological Changes in the Field of Paleogenetics

Mikołaj Danielewski et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Paleogenetics has significantly changed since its inception almost forty years ago. Initially, molecular techniques available to the researchers offered minimal possibilities for ancient DNA analysis. The subsequent expansion of the scientific tool cabinet allowed for more remarkable achievements, combined has with the newfound popularity of this budding field of science. Finally, a breakthrough was made with the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and the update of DNA isolation protocols, through which even very fragmented aDNA samples could be used to sequence whole genomes. In this paper, we review the achievements made thus far and compare the methodologies utilized in this field of science, discussing their benefits and challenges.

Keywords: DNA contamination; DNA fragmentation; ancient DNA; molecular archaeology; next generation sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
General workflow of aDNA analysis. The figure shows the order of tasks in a project regarding recovering ancient genetic material. Steps 1–4 are related to direct work with the samples either on site or in a laboratory (when potential contamination may occur); step 5 includes bioinformatic analysis, which, while represented by only a single step, is usually no less time-consuming than the other four combined. The results obtained through data analysis may indicate samples of particular interest (e.g., samples that could be re-sequenced with high coverage).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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