Chloroplast DNA from 16th century waterlogged oak in a marine environment: initial steps in sourcing the Mary Rose timbers
Year: 2009
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: This paper reports initial results of a palaeogenetic analysis of timbers from the hull of the English Tudor flagship Mary Rose.The study is the first step in assessing the feasibility of extracting and amplifying chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) from these timbers, which were preserved in a marine environment for more than four centuries.The ultimate goal of this research is to determine the provenance of oak (Quercus spp.) used in the ship's manufacture, following previous work demonstrating that the chloroplast genome of modern European oak populations exhibits a strong phylogeographic structure.Experimental trials revealed that extraction methods developed for modern oak wood were inadequate owing to the presence of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inhibitors in the Mary Rose timbers.A series of treatments were tested to develop a new extraction protocol, resulting in cpDNA recovery from one archaeological sample.These results represent the first successful extraction and amplification of cpDNA from waterlogged archaeological oak wood from a marine environment.
Source: ANU Press eBooks
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: University of Queensland
OpenAlex ID: W2803576949