Department of biology, university of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy.
C R Biol. 2012 Jul;335(7):472-9. doi: 10.1016/j.crvi.2012.05.004. Epub 2012 Jun 29.
The analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) provides archaeologists and anthropologists with innovative, scientific and accurate data to study and understand the past. In this work, ancient seeds, found in the "Mora Cavorso" archaeological site (Latium, Central Italy), were analyzed to increase information about Italian Neolithic populations (plant use, agriculture, diet, trades, customs and ecology). We performed morphological and genetic techniques to identify fossil botanical species. In particular, this study also suggests and emphasizes the use of DNA barcode method for ancient plant sample analysis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations showed seed compact structure and irregular surface but they did not permit a precise nor empirical classification: so, a molecular approach was necessary. DNA was extracted from ancient seeds and then it was used, as template, for PCR amplifications of standardized barcode genes. Although aDNA could be highly degraded by the time, successful PCR products were obtained, sequenced and compared to nucleotide sequence databases. Positive outcomes (supported by morphological comparison with modern seeds, geographical distribution and historical data) indicated that seeds could be identified as belonging to two plant species: Olea europaea L. and Cornus mas L.
对古代 DNA（aDNA）的分析为考古学家和人类学家提供了创新、科学和准确的数据，以研究和了解过去。在这项工作中，对在“Mora Cavorso”考古遗址（意大利拉齐奥中部）发现的古代种子进行了分析，以增加有关意大利新石器时代人群的信息（植物利用、农业、饮食、贸易、习俗和生态）。我们采用形态学和遗传学技术来鉴定化石植物物种。特别是，这项研究还建议并强调了 DNA 条码方法在古代植物样本分析中的应用。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）观察显示种子具有紧密的结构和不规则的表面，但无法进行精确的经验分类：因此，需要采用分子方法。从古代种子中提取 DNA，然后将其用作 PCR 扩增标准化条码基因的模板。尽管随着时间的推移，aDNA 可能高度降解，但仍成功获得了 PCR 产物，并对其进行了测序，并与核苷酸序列数据库进行了比较。阳性结果（通过与现代种子的形态比较、地理分布和历史数据得到支持）表明，这些种子可以鉴定为属于两种植物物种：油橄榄（Olea europaea L.）和欧洲山茱萸（Cornus mas L.）。
