科學家從一塊5700年前的“口香糖”中提取DNA

科學家從一塊5700年前的“口香糖”中提取DNA

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have extracted a Stone Age woman’s DNA from 5,700-year-old “chewing gum.”

哥本哈根大學的科學家們從5700年前的“口香糖”中提取了一名石器時代女性的DNA。

The “gum” is made from birch pitch, according to researchers, and was once chewed by the Stone Age woman. Birch pitch is a substance made by heating birch bark. Researchers successfully extracted a complete human genome from the birch pitch, which was found in Southern Denmark.

據(jù)研究人員稱，這種“口香糖”是由樺樹瀝青制成的，石器時代的婦女曾嚼過這種口香糖。樺木瀝青是一種通過加熱樺樹皮制成的物質。研究人員成功地從丹麥南部發(fā)現(xiàn)的樺樹瀝青中提取了完整的人類基因組。

“It is amazing to have gotten a complete ancient human genome from anything other than bone,” project leader Hannes Schroeder, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute, said in a statement. “What is more, we also retrieved DNA from oral microbes and several important human pathogens, which makes this a very valuable source of ancient DNA, especially for time periods where we have no human remains.”

哥本哈根大學地球研究所的副教授、項目負責人Hannes Schroeder在一份聲明中說:“能從骨頭以外的任何東西獲得完整的古人類基因組，這太令人吃驚了。”“更重要的是，我們還從口腔微生物和幾種重要的人類病原體中提取了DNA，這使得它成為一個非常有價值的古代DNA來源，尤其是在我們沒有人類遺體的時期。”

DNA analysis revealed that the birch pitch was chewed by a female, who is described as genetically closer to hunter-gatherers from mainland Europe than the inhabitants of Scandinavia at that time. Researchers believe that the woman likely had dark skin, dark hair and blue eyes.

DNA分析顯示，這塊口香糖是由一位女性咀嚼的，她被描述為在基因上比斯堪的納維亞半島的居民更接近歐洲大陸的狩獵采集者。研究人員認為，這名女子可能有深色皮膚、深色頭發(fā)和藍色眼睛。