RT Journal
A1 Sirak, Kendra
A1 Fernandes, Daniel
A1 Cheronet, Olivia
A1 Harney, Eadaoin
A1 Mah, Matthew
A1 Mallick, Swapan
A1 Rohland, Nadin
A1 Adamski, Nicole
A1 Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen
A1 Callan, Kimberly
A1 Candilio, Francesca
A1 Lawson, Ann Marie
A1 Mandl, Kirsten
A1 Oppenheimer, Jonas
A1 Stewardson, Kristin
A1 Zalzala, Fatma
A1 Anders, Alexandra
A1 Bartík, Juraj
A1 Coppa, Alfredo
A1 Dashtseveg, Tumen
A1 Évinger, Sándor
A1 Farkaš, Zdeněk
A1 Hajdu, Tamás
A1 Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav
A1 McIntyre, Lauren
A1 Moiseyev, Vyacheslav
A1 Okumura, Mercedes
A1 Pap, Ildikó
A1 Pietrusewsky, Michael
A1 Raczky, Pál
A1 Šefčáková, Alena
A1 Soficaru, Andrei
A1 Szeniczey, Tamás
A1 Szőke, Béla Miklós
A1 Van Gerven, Dennis
A1 Vasilyev, Sergey
A1 Bell, Lynne
A1 Reich, David
A1 Pinhasi, Ron
T1 Human auditory ossicles as an alternative optimal source of ancient DNA
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2020 
FD March 01 
VO 30 
IS 3 
SP 427 
OP 436 
DO 10.1101/gr.260141.119 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/30/3/427.abstract 
AB DNA recovery from ancient human remains has revolutionized our ability to reconstruct the genetic landscape of the past. Ancient DNA research has benefited from the identification of skeletal elements, such as the cochlear part of the osseous inner ear, that provides optimal contexts for DNA preservation; however, the rich genetic information obtained from the cochlea must be counterbalanced against the loss of morphological information caused by its sampling. Motivated by similarities in developmental processes and histological properties between the cochlea and auditory ossicles, we evaluate the ossicles as an alternative source of ancient DNA. We show that ossicles perform comparably to the cochlea in terms of DNA recovery, finding no substantial reduction in data quantity and minimal differences in data quality across preservation conditions. Ossicles can be sampled from intact skulls or disarticulated petrous bones without damage to surrounding bone, and we argue that they should be used when available to reduce damage to human remains. Our results identify another optimal skeletal element for ancient DNA analysis and add to a growing toolkit of sampling methods that help to better preserve skeletal remains for future research while maximizing the likelihood that ancient DNA analysis will produce useable results.