Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark; email:
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.
Annu Rev Biochem. 2018 Jun 20;87:1029-1060. doi: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-062917-012002. Epub 2018 Apr 25.
Over the past three decades, studies of ancient biomolecules-particularly ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids-have revolutionized our understanding of evolutionary history. Though initially fraught with many challenges, today the field stands on firm foundations. Researchers now successfully retrieve nucleotide and amino acid sequences, as well as lipid signatures, from progressively older samples, originating from geographic areas and depositional environments that, until recently, were regarded as hostile to long-term preservation of biomolecules. Sampling frequencies and the spatial and temporal scope of studies have also increased markedly, and with them the size and quality of the data sets generated. This progress has been made possible by continuous technical innovations in analytical methods, enhanced criteria for the selection of ancient samples, integrated experimental methods, and advanced computational approaches. Here, we discuss the history and current state of ancient biomolecule research, its applications to evolutionary inference, and future directions for this young and exciting field.
在过去的三十年中，对古代生物分子的研究——特别是古代 DNA、蛋白质和脂质的研究——彻底改变了我们对进化历史的理解。尽管最初充满了许多挑战，但今天该领域已经有了坚实的基础。研究人员现在成功地从越来越古老的样本中提取核苷酸和氨基酸序列，以及脂质特征，这些样本来自于地理区域和沉积环境，直到最近，这些区域和环境被认为不利于生物分子的长期保存。采样频率以及研究的时空范围也明显增加，随之而来的是生成的数据量和质量。这一进展得益于分析方法的持续技术创新、对古代样本选择标准的提高、综合实验方法和先进的计算方法。在这里，我们讨论了古代生物分子研究的历史和现状，它在进化推断中的应用，以及这个年轻而令人兴奋的领域的未来方向。
