An international team of researchers has successfully extracted human DNA from the ‘cement’ that headlice use to stick their eggs into human hairs. DNA was recovered from Argentine mummies about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.
“Headlice have been with humans throughout their existence, so this new method could open the door to a gold mine of information about our ancestors,” Dr. Alejandra Perotti, one of the study’s authors, said in a press statement. Perotti is affiliated with the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology section at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK.
Ancient DNA extracted from knight ‘cement’ on the hair of mummified people about 2,000 years ago. New technology offers valuable new window into the past@ReadingBioSci @UNSJ_official @BangorUni @morethanadodo @uni_copenhagen https://t.co/JXidES22v7 pic.twitter.com/qVcCQDKJgB
— Reading Uni News (@UniRdg_News) December 29, 2021
“Like the fictional tale of mosquitoes encased in amber in the movie Jurassic Park, by taking the DNA of a dinosaur host, we have shown that our genetic information can be preserved by the sticky substance produced by the headlice on our hair. In addition to genetics, lice are the organism’s Science can provide valuable clues about how people lived and died thousands of years ago,” she explained.
paper published last week In Molecular Biology and Evolution notes that such lice sheaths could be a new source of high quality ancient DNA not only from humans but also from many other animals where bones and teeth are not available. The team writes that DNA extracted from knight cement contained the same concentration of DNA as that from teeth and twice as much from bone.
Dr. Mikel Vinther Pedersen, from the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen, and first author, said: “Other lice species but are also giving us indications of potential viral diseases. Alternative sources of ancient human DNA are being sought and nits cement those options.” May be one of the. I believe that future studies are needed before we can really uncover this potential.”
Analysis of DNA from Night-Cement helped confirm the sexes of human hosts and the genetic link between mummies and humans in Amazonia. The study also found the first direct evidence of Merkel cell polyomavirus.
The team noted that the cause of death was extremely cold temperatures because there was a very small gap between the skulls of the nits and the mummy. Lice generally depend on host body heat to keep the eggs warm and in very cold environments keep them close to the scalp.
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