The Hidden Secrets of the Dental Calculus: Calibration of a Mass Spectrometry Protocol for Dental Calculus Protein Analysis

Abstract

Dental calculus is a solid deposit that forms and accumulates on the tooth surface, entrapping oral microorganisms, biomolecules, and other micro-debris found in the oral cavity. A mass spectrometry analysis of its protein content opens a vista into the subject’s diet, oral flora, and even some aspects of health, thus providing new insight and expanding our knowledge of archaic cultures. Multiple experimental protocols have been proposed for the optimal extraction of proteins from dental calculus. Herein, we compared various experimental conditions in order to calibrate and validate a protocol for protein extraction. Our results show that a high concentration of acetic acid followed by mechanical crushing and sonication provided the highest protein yield, while acetone precipitation enabled the identification of more distinct proteins. We validated this protocol using archeological samples, identifying human and microbial proteins in specimens from the eighth and seventeenth centuries (approximately 250–1300 years ago). These findings demonstrate that the developed protocol is useful for studying excavated archaeological samples and that it might be utilized to explore the biohistory, dietary habits, and microbiome of archaic populations.

Keywords

• dental calculus
• mass-spectrometry
• modern humans
• human evolution