Anat Cell Biol.  2025 Mar;58(1):8-13. 10.5115/acb.24.125.

Cost-effectiveness and other considerations for different research techniques applied in ancient DNA analysis

• Hong JH
• Fujita H
• Kim J
• Shin DH

• KMID: 2565951
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.24.125

Abstract

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis has developed rapidly since it first emerged in the 1980s, becoming an almost indispensable tool in anthropological and archaeological sciences. Earlier aDNA study was based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, with which, unfortunately, modern DNA contamination and other authenticity issues were often incurred. These technical hurdles were soon overcome by application of advancements in the forms of the next generation sequencing (NGS) technique and others. However, since NGS requires money, time, and, in the case of large projects, manpower as well, genetic analysis of some ancient samples considered to be insignificant is commonly delayed or, in the worst cases, neglected entirely. We acknowledge that as a diagnostic tool in aDNA analysis, PCR is less accurate than NGS and more easily affected by modern DNA contamination; but it also has advantages, such as simplicity, time-saving, and greater ease of interpretation, among others. The role of PCR in aDNA analysis, then, should be reconsidered.

Keyword

DNA; ancient; Commerce; Efficiency; Polymerase chain reaction; High-throughput nucleotide sequencing

Figure

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  Fig. 1 A brief timetable of aDNA analysis. aDNA, ancient DNA; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; NGS, next-generation sequencing [7-12].

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  Fig. 2 Excavation of ancient bones at archaeological site.

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  Fig. 3 Disposable suits and gloves have to be worn at the archaeological sites for the retrieval of ancient samples (courtesy of Dr. Vasant Shinde).

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  Fig. 4 Our suggestion of aDNA research workflow. When ancient samples are discovered, and NGS analysis would be declined or delayed for the cases, PCR can be used as a test before the complete report of NGS. aDNA, ancient DNA; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; NGS, next-generation sequencing.

Reference

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