Table 1 Evaluation of potential ancient DNA shotgun sequencing targets
From: Computational challenges in the analysis of ancient DNA
Species | DNA preservation | Biological relevance | Closely related genome available |
|---|---|---|---|
Neandertal | Yes, reasonable | Recent human evolution | Human, chimpanzee |
Mammoth | Yes, very good. Draft genome published in 2008 [13] | Limited; possibly adaptation to arctic environments | Elephant |
Mastodon | Yes, good | Limited; in combination with mammoth parallel adaptation to arctic environments | No close living relatives |
Dwarf elephant | Maybe possible; young enough, but poor preservation conditions | Rapid decrease in body size due to island adaptation | Elephant |
Cave bear | Yes, good | Limited; probably interesting in combination with genomes from modern bear species; long hibernation without muscle atrophy may be medically interesting | Bear (not sequenced) |
Ground sloth | Yes, reasonable | Size difference to modern species; parallel evolution in different lineages | Tree sloth (sequencing in progress) |
Saber tooth cat | Probably possible | Limited; unique morphological adaptations | No close living relatives |
Aurochs (Bos primigenius) | Marginal; young enough, but poor preservation conditions in region of domestication | Understanding of domestication process | Cattle [53] |
Homo floresiensis | No, young enough, but too poor preservation conditions | Relationship to modern humans; recent human evolution; island adaptation in a hominid | Human, chimpanzee |
Australopithecus | No, too old | Human evolution: potentially medical insights | Human, chimpanzee |
Dinosaurs | No, far too old | Unique evolutionary lineage | No close living relatives |