News from aDNA team

New Ancient DNA Research Team at the Department of Archaeology and Museology, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University

In the beginning of 2021, a new ancient DNA (aDNA) research team formed at the Department of Archaeology and Museology with an objective to analyze ancient bone samples from the Early Medieval Moravia and Bohemia and help integrate discovered genetic traits of the population that lived in region with the archaeological knowledge. So far, more than 1400 samples including almost 400 samples for the FORMOR project were processed in the newly furnished lab for the project and more are on their way!
Obtaining the aDNA from ancient material is a very delicate matter - aDNA molecules are often damaged and prone to contamination. To avoid such problems, the laboratory itself comprises three separate rooms with restricted access - lab personnel have undergone special training at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The bone powder needed for analyses is acquired under sterile conditions from different types of bones. Nowadays, one of the best aDNA source is considered to be the petrous bone, therefore most of the samples processed in the laboratory are composed of them. However, the second best aDNA source - the teeth - can sometimes be even more useful in discovering the past. They could contain traces of ancient blood-borne pathogens, which eventually killed the host and can be sequenced today. Dental calculus is also very informative, especially about the oral microbiome of the studied individual. Lab members are also participating in development of the most innovative sampling techniques, including using the auditory ossicles as a source of aDNA or carefully drilling the powder using perfectly preserved skulls from the cranial base without damaging the cranial vault.
The sampling process always involves consulting the curator in order to inflict minimal damage on the skeletal remains. In the past year, aDNA research team has visited many collections to obtain samples, including the National Museum in Prague, Regional Museum in Mikulov and the Faculty of Science of the Charles University. The lab personnel is also capable of collecting the sample directly in the burial grounds in situ. The progress in sampling and methodology was presented at the international HistoGenes conference in Vienna.