Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:40:43.127Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Seed remains of common millet from the 4th (Mongolia) and 15th (Hungary) centuries: AFLP, SSR and mtDNA sequence recoveries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

G. Gyulai*
Affiliation:
St. Stephanus University Genetics and Pland Breeding and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences–St. Stephanus University Research Group for Molecular Plant Breeding, Godollo, H-2103, Hungary Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, SY23 3EB, UK
M. Humphreys
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, SY23 3EB, UK
R. Lagler
Affiliation:
St. Stephanus University Genetics and Pland Breeding and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences–St. Stephanus University Research Group for Molecular Plant Breeding, Godollo, H-2103, Hungary
Z. Szabo
Affiliation:
St. Stephanus University Genetics and Pland Breeding and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences–St. Stephanus University Research Group for Molecular Plant Breeding, Godollo, H-2103, Hungary
Z. Toth
Affiliation:
St. Stephanus University Genetics and Pland Breeding and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences–St. Stephanus University Research Group for Molecular Plant Breeding, Godollo, H-2103, Hungary
A. Bittsanszky
Affiliation:
St. Stephanus University Genetics and Pland Breeding and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences–St. Stephanus University Research Group for Molecular Plant Breeding, Godollo, H-2103, Hungary
F. Gyulai
Affiliation:
Institute of Agrobotany, Tapioszele, H-2766, Hungary
L. Heszky
Affiliation:
St. Stephanus University Genetics and Pland Breeding and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences–St. Stephanus University Research Group for Molecular Plant Breeding, Godollo, H-2103, Hungary
*
*Correspondence: Email: gyulai.gabor@mkk.szie.hu

Abstract

Seed remains of common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) were excavated from sites of ad 4th-century Darhan (Mongolia), and ad 15th-century Budapest (Hungary). Because the 15th-century medieval grains looked so intact, a germination test was carried out under aseptic conditions, which resulted in swelling of the grains but no cell proliferation or germination. Ancient DNA (aDNA) was extracted from the aseptic grains; analysed for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP), simple sequence repeats (SSR) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA); and compared with the modern millet cultivar ‘Topaz’. AFLP analysis revealed that extensive DNA degradation had occurred in the 4th-century ancient millet, resulting in only 2 (1.2%) AFLP fragments (98.8% degradation) amplified by MseCAA–EcoAGT, compared to the 15th-century medieval millet, with 158 (40%) fragments (60% degradation), and modern millet cultivar ‘Topaz’ with 264 fragments (100%). EcoAGT–MseCAA was found to be the most effective selective-primer combination for the analysis of medieval and modern millet. Eight AFLP fragments were sequenced after re-amplification and cloning. Microsatellite (SSR) analysis at the nuclear gln4, sh1, rps28 and rps15 loci revealed one SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) at the 29th position (A→G) of rps28 locus, compared to modern millet. An mtDNA fragment (MboI), amplified at the 18S–5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus in the medieval millet, showed no molecular changes compared to modern millet. The results underline the significance of aDNA extraction and analysis of excavated seeds for comparative analysis and molecular reconstruction of ancient and extinct plant genotypes.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Janabi, S.M., McClelland, M., Petersen, C. and Sobral, B.W.S. (1994) Phylogenetic analysis of organellar DNA sequences in the Andropogoneae: Saccharinae. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 88, 933944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allaby, R.G. and Brown, T.A. (2003) AFLP data and the origins of domesticated crops. Genome 46, 448453.Google Scholar
Bewley, J.D. (1997) Seed germination and dormancy. Plant Cell 9, 10551066.Google Scholar
Biss, P., Freeland, J., Silvertown, J., McConway, K. and Lutman, P. (2003) Successful amplification of rice chloroplast microsatellites from century-old grass samples from the Park Grass experiment. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 21, 249257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowcock, A.M., Ruiz-Linares, A., Tomfohrde, J., Minch, E., Kidd, J.R., Cavalli-Sforza, L.L. (1994) High resolution of human evolutionary trees with polymorphic microsatellites. Nature 368, 455457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bromham, L. and Penny, D. (2003) The modern molecular clock. Nature Reviews Genetics 4, 216224.Google Scholar
Brown, T.A. (1999) How ancient DNA may help in understanding the origin and spread of agriculture. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 354, 8998.Google Scholar
Cheng, S., Fockler, C., Barnes, W.M. and Higuchi, R. (1994) Effective amplification of long targets from cloned inserts and human genomic DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 91, 56955699.Google Scholar
Chin, E.C.L., Senior, M.L., Shu, H. and Smith, J.S.C. (1996) Maize simple repetitive DNA sequences: Abundance and allele variation. Genome 39, 866873.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colosi, J.C. and Schaal, B.A. (1997) Wild proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) is genetically variable and distinct from crop varieties of proso millet. Weed Science 45, 509518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. and Poinar, H.N. (2000) Ancient DNA: Do it right or not at all. Science 289, 1139CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, A., Lalueza-Fox, C., Anderson, S., Rambaut, A., Austin, J. and Ward, R. (2001) Complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two extinct moas clarify ratite evolution. Nature 409, 704707.Google Scholar
Cresswell, A., Sackville-Hamilton, N.R., Roy, A.K. and Viegas, B.M.F. (2001) Use of AFLP markers to assess genetic diversity of Lolium species from Portugal. Molecular Ecology 10, 229241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deguilloux, M.-F., Pemonge, M.-H. and Petit, R.J. (2002) Novel perspectives in wood certification and forensics: dry wood as a source of DNA. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 269, 10391046.Google Scholar
Gorman, C.F. (1969) Hoabinhian: a pebble-tool complex with early plant associations in Southeast Asia. Science 163, 671673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gugerli, F., Parducci, L. and Petit, R.J. (2005) Ancient plant DNA: review and prospects. New Phytologist 166, 409418.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gyulai, F. (2000) Seed and fruit collections of the middle European plant species. Godollo, Hungary, St. Stephanus University.Google Scholar
Gyulai, G., Mester, Z., Kiss, J., Szeman, L., Heszky, L. and Idnurm, A. (2003) Somaclone breeding of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinaceaL). Grass and Forage Science 58, 210215.Google Scholar
Gyulai, G., Humphreys, M., Bittsánszky, A., Skot, K., Kiss, J., Skot, L., Gullner, G., Heywood, S., Szabo, Z., Lovatt, A., Radimszky, L., Roderick, H., Rennenberg, H., Abberton, M., Kőmíves, T. and Heszky, L. (2005) AFLP analysis and improved phytoextraction capacity of transgenic gsh I-poplar clones (Populus canescens L.) in vitro. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung 60, 300306.Google Scholar
Harlan, J.R. (1971) Agricultural origins: centers and noncenters. Science 174, 468473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ho, P.-T. (1977) The indigenous origins of Chinese agriculture. pp. 413418. in Reed, C.A. (Ed.) Origins of agriculture. Paris, Mouton Publishers.Google Scholar
Hofreiter, M., Jaenicke, V., Serre, D., von Haeseler, A., Pääbo, S. (2001) DNA sequences from multiple amplifications reveal artifacts induced by cytosine deamination in ancient DNA. Nucleic Acids Research 29, 47934799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keng, H. (1974) Economic plants of ancient north China as mentioned in Shih Ching (Book of Poetry). Economic Botany 28, 391410.Google Scholar
Lagler, R., Gyulai, G., Humphreys, M., Szabo, Z., Horvath, L., Bittsanszky, A., Kiss, J., Holly, L. and Heszky, L. (2005) Morphological and molecular analysis of common millet (P. miliaceum) cultivars compared to an aDNA sample from the 15th century (Hungary). Euphytica 146, 7785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michelmore, R.W., Paran, I. and Kesseli, R.V. (1991) Identification of markers linked to disease-resistance genes by bulked-segregant analysis: a rapid method to detect markers in specific genomic regions by using segregating populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 88, 98289832.Google Scholar
Nyekhelyi, B.D. (2003) Monumenta historica Budapestinensia XII. Hungary, Historical Museum of Budapest.Google Scholar
Pääbo, S., Poinar, H., Serre, D., Jaenicke-Despres, V., Hebler, J., Rohland, N., Kuch, M., Krause, J., Vigilant, L. and Hofreiter, M. (2004) Genetic analyses from ancient DNA. Annual Review of Genetics 38, 645679.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petit, R.J., Demesure, B. and Dumolin, S. (1998) cpDNA and mtDNA primers in plants. 256261. in Karp, A.;, Isaac, P.G.;, Ingram, D.S.Molecular tools for screening biodiversity. London, Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poinar, H.N. and Stankiewicz, B.A. (1999) Protein preservation and DNA retrieval from ancient tissues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 96, 84268431.Google Scholar
Poinar, H.N., Kuch, M., McDonald, G., Martin, P., Pääbo, S. (2003) Nuclear gene sequences from a late Pleistocene sloth coprolite. Current Biology 12, 11501152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priestley, D.A. (1986) Seed aging: Implication for seed storage and persistence in the soil. Ithaca, New York. Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Raniello, R. and Procaccini, G. (2002) Ancient DNA in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Marine Ecology – Progress Series 227, 269273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roder, M.S., Korzun, V., Wendehake, K., Plaschke, J., Tixier, M.H., Leroy, P. and Ganal, M.W. (1998) A microsatellite map of wheat. Genetics 149, 20072023.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saltonstall, K. (2003) Microsatellite variation within and among North American lineages of Phragmites australis. Molecular Ecology 12, 16891702.Google Scholar
Schermann, Sz. (1966) Magismeret, Vols I and II (Seed Atlas, in Hungarian). Budapest, Akadémiai Kiado.Google Scholar
Skøt, L., Hamilton, N.R.S., Mizen, S., Chorlton, K.H. and Thomas, I.D. (2002) Molecular genecology of temperature response in Lolium perenne: 2. Association of AFLP markers with ecogeography. Molecular Ecology 11, 18651876.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, P.M. (1976) Minor crops. pp. 301324. in Simmonds, N.W.Evolution of crop plants. London, Longman.Google Scholar
Sun, G., Kaushal, R., Pal, P., Wolujewicz, M., Smelser, D., Cheng, H., Lu, M., Chakraborty, R., Jin, L. and Deka, R. (2005) Whole-genome amplification: relative efficiencies of the current methods. Legal Medicine 7, 279286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szabo, Z., Gyulai, G., Humphreys, M., Horváth, L., Bittsánszky, A., Lagler, R. and Heszky, L. (2005) Genetic variation of melon ( C. melo ) compared to an extinct landrace from the Middle Ages (Hungary) I. rDNA, SSR and SNP analysis of 47 cultivars. Euphytica 146, 8794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Threadgold, J. and Brown, T.A. (2003) Degradation of DNA in artificially charred wheat seeds. Journal of Archaeological Science 30, 10671076.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toth, G., Gaspari, Z. and Jurka, J. (2000) Microsatellites in different eukaryotic genomes: survey and analysis. Genome Research 10, 967981.Google Scholar
Vos, P., Hogers, R., Bleeker, M., Reijans, M., van de, Lee T., Hornes, M., Friters, A., Pot, J., Paleman, J., Kuiper, M. and Zabeau, M. (1995) AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprinting. Nucleic Acids Research 23, 44074414.Google Scholar
Walters, T.W. (1989) Historical overview on domesticated plants in China with special emphasis on the Cucurbitaceae. Economic Botany 43, 297313.Google Scholar
Willerslev, E., Hansen, A.J., Binladen, J., Brand, T.B., Gilbert, M.T.P., Shapiro, B., Bunce, M., Wiuf, C., Gilichinsky, D.A. and Cooper, A. (2003) Diverse plant and animal genetic records from Holocene and Pleistocene sediments. Science 300, 791795.Google Scholar
Yang, H. (1997) Ancient DNA from Pleistocene fossils: preservation, recovery, and utility of ancient genetic information for quaternary research. Quaternary Science Reviews 16, 11451161.Google Scholar