A fruitful scoop for ancient DNA
Stokstad, E.
Science 281(5375): 319-320
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9705702 Document Number: 497138
In this issue, a research team from the University of Munich report that information about extinct animals can be gleaned from fossilized dung. Hendrik Poinar, Svante Paabo, and colleagues used the chemical N-phenacylthiazolium bromide to isolate DNA from a lump of fossilized dung, or coprolite, left by an extinct ground sloth around 20,000 years ago. A variety of plant DNA was extracted from the coprolite, giving clues to the sloth's diet. Poinar says that the technique may not work on coprolites found in warmer or wetter conditions or on very ancient samples because DNA is thought to break down within 100,000 years.