Conservation of Mitochondrial DNA in Fast Enzyme-Macerated Skeletal Material

Abstract

The current study investigates the conservation of mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) from skeletal material prepared by enzyme maceration. Ten individuals of Stone Marten (Martes foina) were enzyme-macerated using a mixture of protease and lipase. After using a fast enzyme preparation method the skeletal material was stored for two years in order to see if degradation of DNA had taken place. As warm-water maceration is the traditional maceration technique used for example at The Natural History Museum of Denmark, ten different individuals of Stone Marten were warm-water macerated so a comparison of the two different maceration techniques’ amplifiable DNA outcome could be made. Samples for DNA analysis were taken from two different kinds of bone (pelvic and costa) from each individual. The analyses showed that the mtDNA was intact and all PCR products could be indentified to the right species without contamination, demonstrating that both the warm-water maceration and the fast enzyme preparation method had not compromised the DNA.

Keywords

• forensic science
• mtDNA
• conservation
• enzyme maceration
• skeletal material
• bones