Ancient Microbes from Halite Fluid Inclusions: Optimized Surface Sterilization and DNA Extraction

Ancient Microbes from Halite Fluid Inclusions: Optimized Surface Sterilization and DNA Extraction

Fluid inclusions in evaporite minerals (halite, gypsum, etc.) potentially preserve genetic records of microbial diversity and changing environmental conditions of Earth's hydrosphere for nearly one billion years. Here we describe a robust protocol for surface sterilization and retrieval of DNA from fluid inclusions in halite that, unlike previously published methods, guarantees removal of poten...

Entrapment of bacteria in fluid inclusions in laboratory-grown halite.

Cells of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which were genetically modified to produce green fluorescent protein, were entrapped in fluid inclusions in laboratory-grown halite. The bacteria were used to inoculate NaCl-saturated aqueous solutions, which were allowed to evaporate and precipitate halite. The number, size, and distribution of fluid inclusions were highly variable, but did not ap...

Ancient Cosmic Dust from Triassic Halite

Introduction: Until now micrometeorites have been extracted from limited periods of geological time (up to ~185-Myr-old) providing only a fragmented record of MM flux changes over geological time [1]. Because of preservation problems, we did not think MMs could be recovered from salt deposits (such as halite). Here we report that not only can MMs be found in, and successfully extracted from, ha...

Ancient DNA from Human and Animal

Research on ancient DNA (aDNA) has the potential to enable molecular biologists and archeologists to decipher certain aspects of history by direct looking into the past. However, several major problems in this field limit the applicability of aDNA studies, most importantly contamination with modern DNA and postmortem DNA degradation. In this study we extracted and analyzed aDNA obtained from ~3...

Extraction and Analysis of Ancient DNA from Human Remains of Masjede Kabood Burial Site