Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 May 10;272(5263):864-6.
doi: 10.1126/science.272.5263.864.

Amino acid racemization and the preservation of ancient DNA

H N Poinar  1 , M Höss, J L Bada, S Pääbo
Collaborators, Affiliations

Amino acid racemization and the preservation of ancient DNA

H N Poinar et al. Science. .

Abstract

The extent of racemization of aspartic acid, alanine, and leucine provides criteria for assessing whether ancient tissue samples contain endogenous DNA. In samples in which the D/L ratio of aspartic acid exceeds 0.08, ancient DNA sequences could not be retrieved. Paleontological finds from which DNA sequences purportedly millions of years old have been reported show extensive racemization, and the amino acids present are mainly contaminates. An exception is the amino acids in some insects preserved in amber.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Just how old is that DNA, anyway?
    Service RF. Service RF. Science. 1996 May 10;272(5263):810. doi: 10.1126/science.272.5263.810. Science. 1996. PMID: 8629007 No abstract available.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources