DNA Sequence from Cretaceous Period Bone Fragments
- 18 November 1994
- journal article
- review article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 266 (5188) , 1229-1232
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7973705
Abstract
DNA was extracted from 80-million-year-old bone fragments found in strata of the Upper Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation in the roof of an underground coal mine in eastern Utah. This DNA was used as the template in a polymerase chain reaction that amplified and sequenced a portion of the gene encoding mitochondrial cytochrome b. These sequences differ from all other cytochrome b sequences investigated, including those in the GenBank and European Molecular Biology Laboratory databases. DNA isolated from these bone fragments and the resulting gene sequences demonstrate that small fragments of DNA may survive in bone for millions of years.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Amplification of ancient nuclear DNA from teeth and soft tissues.Genome Research, 1994
- Amplification and sequencing of DNA from a 120–135-million-year-old weevilNature, 1993
- DNA from an extinct plantNature, 1993
- Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNANature, 1993
- DNA Sequences from a Fossil Termite in Oligo-Miocene Amber and their Phylogenetic ImplicationsScience, 1992
- Evolution of the cytochromeb gene of mammalsJournal of Molecular Evolution, 1991
- Proteins in the fossil bone of the dinosaur, seismosaurusProtein Journal, 1991
- Basic local alignment search toolJournal of Molecular Biology, 1990
- Ancient bone DNA amplifiedNature, 1989
- Sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genomeNature, 1981