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Mobile devices for on-field DNA analysis have been used for medical
diagnostics at the point-of-care, forensic investigation and environmental
survey, but still have to be validated for ancient DNA studies. We report
here on a mobile laboratory that we setup using commercially available
devices, including a compact real-time PCR machine, and describe
procedures to perform DNA extraction and analysis from a variety of
archeological samples within 4 hours. The process is carried out on 50 mg
samples that are identified at the species level using custom TaqMan
real-time PCR assays for mitochondrial DNA fragments. We evaluated the
potential of this approach in museums lacking facilities for DNA studies
by analyzing samples from the Enlène (MIS 2 layer) and the Western Portel
cave (MIS 3 deposits), and also performed experiments during an excavation
campaign at the Roc-en-Pail (MIS 5) open-air site. Enlène Bovinae bone
samples only yielded Bison priscus DNA, whereas Western Portel cave
coprolites contained cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta) DNA together, for some
of them, with DNA for the extinct Bison schoetensacki/Bb1/X clade, thus
highlighting the Crocuta crocuta diet. Roc-en-Pail Bovinae bone and tooth
samples also contained DNA for the Bison schoetensacki/Bb1/X clade, and
Cervidae bone samples only yielded Rangifer tarandus DNA. Subsequent DNA
sequencing analysis confirmed that correct species identification had been
achieved using our TaqMan assays, hence validating these assays for future
studies. We conclude that our approach enables the rapid genetic
characterization of tens of millennia-old archeological samples and is
expected to be useful for the on-site screening of museums and freshly
excavated samples for DNA content. Because our mobile laboratory is made
up of commercially available instruments, this approach is easily
accessible to other investigators.
167 views reported since publication in 2019.