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Ancient HLA genes from 7,500-year-old archaeological remains

Nature volume 349, pages 785–788 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

IN the past decade there has been increasing interest in cloning DNA from ancient and preserved tissues1–6. Most studies, however, have focused on mitochondrial or chloroplast genes, present at hundreds to thousands of copies per cell compared with one or two for each nuclear gene7–9. With a probe containing Alu repeat sequences, Pääbo isolated a 3.4-kilobase DNA fragment from a 2,400-year-old Egyptian mummy10 which was subsequently shown to contain an intron of the nuclear gene HLA-DQA (ref. 11). Here we report a more targeted approach to the characterization of nuclear genes from archaeological specimens. The Windover pond of central Florida has provided skeletal and soft tissue remains from 165 humans, radiocarbon-dated to be 6,990–8,130 years old12–14. Using DNA obtained from one individual we have characterized segments from six nuclear genes: that for β2-microglobulin and five members of the class I HLA heavy chain gene family. Distinctive patterns of nucleotide substitution in the cloned heavy chain gene segments permit tentative assignment of the HLA-A,B type of the ancient individual.

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Author notes

  1. Peter Parham: To whom correspondence should be addressed

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Cell Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA

    David A. Lawlor & Peter Parham

  2. Departments of Immunology and Medical Microbiology, and Ophthamology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, 32610, USA

    Cynthia D. Dickel & William W. Hauswirth

Authors
  1. David A. Lawlor
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  2. Cynthia D. Dickel
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  3. William W. Hauswirth
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  4. Peter Parham
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Lawlor, D., Dickel, C., Hauswirth, W. et al. Ancient HLA genes from 7,500-year-old archaeological remains. Nature 349, 785–788 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/349785a0

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