Laura Parducci1, Keith D Bennett2,3, Gentile Francesco Ficetola4,5, Inger Greve Alsos6, Yoshihisa Suyama7, Jamie R Wood8, Mikkel Winther Pedersen9. 1. Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, Uppsala, 75236, Sweden. 2. Department of Geography & Sustainable Development, School of Geography & Geosciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9AL, UK. 3. Marine Laboratory, Queen's University Belfast, Portaferry, BT22 1LS, UK. 4. CNRS, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Grenoble, F-38000, France. 5. Department of Biosciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy. 6. Tromsø Museum, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, NO-9037, Norway. 7. Field Science Center, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 232-3 Yomogida, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi, 989-6711, Japan. 8. Long-term Ecology Lab, Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln Canterbury, 7640, New Zealand. 9. Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 1350, Denmark.
Abstract
Contents 924 I. 925 II. 925 III. 927 IV. 929 V. 930 VI. 930 VII. 931 VIII. 933 IX. 935 X. 936 XI. 938 938 References 938 SUMMARY: Recent advances in sequencing technologies now permit the analyses of plant DNA from fossil samples (ancient plant DNA, plant aDNA), and thus enable the molecular reconstruction of palaeofloras. Hitherto, ancient frozen soils have proved excellent in preserving DNA molecules, and have thus been the most commonly used source of plant aDNA. However, DNA from soil mainly represents taxa growing a few metres from the sampling point. Lakes have larger catchment areas and recent studies have suggested that plant aDNA from lake sediments is a more powerful tool for palaeofloristic reconstruction. Furthermore, lakes can be found globally in nearly all environments, and are therefore not limited to perennially frozen areas. Here, we review the latest approaches and methods for the study of plant aDNA from lake sediments and discuss the progress made up to the present. We argue that aDNA analyses add new and additional perspectives for the study of ancient plant populations and, in time, will provide higher taxonomic resolution and more precise estimation of abundance. Despite this, key questions and challenges remain for such plant aDNA studies. Finally, we provide guidelines on technical issues, including lake selection, and we suggest directions for future research on plant aDNA studies in lake sediments.
Contents 924 I. 925 II. 925 III. 927 IV. 929 V. 930 VI. 930 VII. 931 VIII. 933 IX. 935 X. 936 XI. 938 938 References 938 SUMMARY: Recent advances in sequencing technologies now permit the analyses of plant DNA from fossil samples (ancient plant DNA, plant aDNA), and thus enable the molecular reconstruction of palaeofloras. Hitherto, ancient frozen soils have proved excellent in preserving DNA molecules, and have thus been the most commonly used source of plant aDNA. However, DNA from soil mainly represents taxa growing a few metres from the sampling point. Lakes have larger catchment areas and recent studies have suggested that plant aDNA from lake sediments is a more powerful tool for palaeofloristic reconstruction. Furthermore, lakes can be found globally in nearly all environments, and are therefore not limited to perennially frozen areas. Here, we review the latest approaches and methods for the study of plant aDNA from lake sediments and discuss the progress made up to the present. We argue that aDNA analyses add new and additional perspectives for the study of ancient plant populations and, in time, will provide higher taxonomic resolution and more precise estimation of abundance. Despite this, key questions and challenges remain for such plant aDNA studies. Finally, we provide guidelines on technical issues, including lake selection, and we suggest directions for future research on plant aDNA studies in lake sediments.
Keywords:
ancient plant DNA (aDNA); bioinformatics; environmental DNA (eDNA); high-throughput DNA sequencing; lake sediments; metabarcoding; pollen; shotgun sequencing; taphonomy
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