Rogaev Evgeny I, Grigorenko Anastasia P, Moliaka Yuri K, Faskhutdinova Gulnaz, Goltsov Andrey, Lahti Arlene, Hildebrandt Curtis, Kittler Ellen L W, Morozova Irina
Department of Genomics and Laboratory of Evolutionary Genomics, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Science, Gubkina Street, 3, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar 31;106(13):5258-63. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0811190106. Epub 2009 Feb 27.
Accurate unambiguous identification of ancient or historical specimens can potentially be achieved by DNA analysis. The controversy surrounding the fate of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II, and his family has persisted, in part, because the bodies of 2 children, Prince Alexei and 1 of his sisters, have not been found. A grave discovered in 1991 contained remains putatively identified as those of the Russian Royal family. However, not all family members were represented. Here, we report the results of genomic analyses of new specimens, the human remains of 2 burned skeletons exhumed from a grave discovered in July 2007, and the results of a comprehensive genomic analysis of remains from the 1991 discovery. Additionally, approximately 117 years old archival blood specimens from Nicholas II were obtained and genotyped, which provided critical material for the specific determination of individual identities and kinship identifications. Results of genotypic analyses of damaged historical specimens were evaluated alongside samples from descendants of both paternal and maternal lineages of the European Royal families, and the results conclusively demonstrate that the recently found remains belong to children of Nicholas II: Prince Alexei and his sister. The results of our studies provide unequivocal evidence that the remains of Nicholas II and his entire family, including all 5 children, have been identified. We demonstrate that convergent analysis of complete mitochondrial genome sequences combined with nuclear DNA profiles is an efficient and conclusive method for individual and kinship identification of specimens obtained from old historic relics.
通过DNA分析有可能准确无误地鉴定古代或历史标本。围绕俄罗斯末代皇帝尼古拉二世及其家人的命运的争议一直存在，部分原因是两个孩子阿列克谢王子和他的一个姐妹的尸体尚未找到。1991年发现的一座坟墓中埋葬着据信是俄罗斯皇室成员的遗体。然而，并非所有家庭成员都有遗体。在此，我们报告了新标本的基因组分析结果，即从2007年7月发现的一座坟墓中挖掘出的两具烧焦骨骼的人类遗骸，以及对1991年发现的遗骸进行的全面基因组分析结果。此外，还获取了来自尼古拉二世的大约有117年历史的存档血液标本并进行了基因分型，这为具体确定个人身份和亲属关系提供了关键材料。对受损历史标本的基因分型分析结果与欧洲皇室家族父系和母系后裔的样本一起进行了评估，结果确凿地表明，最近发现的遗骸属于尼古拉二世的孩子：阿列克谢王子和他的妹妹。我们的研究结果提供了明确的证据，证明尼古拉二世及其整个家族，包括所有5个孩子的遗体都已被确认。我们证明，完整线粒体基因组序列与核DNA图谱的聚合分析是一种用于从古老历史遗迹中获取的标本进行个体和亲属关系鉴定的有效且结论性的方法。
