Metagenomics to Paleogenomics: Large-Scale Sequencing of Mammoth DNA
We report the sequencing of a remarkably well-preserved Siberian woolly mammoth. Using a metagenomics approach we sequenced about 28 million reads of which 45.4% were identified as mammoth. The high percentage of endogenous DNA should enable the completion of its full genome.
Jan 20, 2006
We sequenced 28 million base pairs of DNA in a metagenomics approach, using a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) sample from Siberia. As a result of exceptional sample preservation and the use of a recently developed emulsion polymerase chain reaction and pyrosequencing technique, 13 million base pairs (45.4%) of the sequencing reads were identified as mammoth DNA. Sequence identity between our data and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was 98.55%, consistent with a paleontologically based divergence date of 5 to 6 million years. The sample includes a surprisingly small diversity of environmental DNAs. The high percentage of endogenous DNA recoverable from this single mammoth would allow for completion of its genome, unleashing the field of paleogenomics.