Table 3.
Biochemical data for all samples
| Scientific name (common name) | Age, Kyr | Ratio AA/DkP | Racemization, D/L ratios (Asp, Ala) | Hydantoins, nmol/mg
|
DNA, bp | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-OH-5Me | 5-OH | |||||
| Homo sapiens (modern human) | 0 | 7 | 0.05, 0.00* | 0.42† | 0.016 | kbp‡ |
| Mammuthus primigenius (mammoth) | 50 | 2 | 0.06, 0.01 | 1.25 | 0.70 | 200 |
| Equus caballus (horse) | 0.04 | 10 | 0.05, 0.01 | 1.82 | 1.20 | 340 |
| Mylodon darwinii (ground sloth) | 13 | 7 | 0.05, 0.00 | 3.09 | 1.72 | 140 |
| Equus ferus (horse) | 42 | 8 | 0.06, 0.01 | 0.78 | 0.66 | 140 |
| Equus hemionus (onager) | 27 | 3 | 0.07, 0.01 | 2.08 | 1.19 | 140 |
| Homo neandertalensis (Neanderthal) | 30–100 | 4 | 0.12, 0.01 | NA | NA | 170 |
| Papio cf. cynocephalus (baboon) | 2.3 | 7 | 0.18, 0.02 | 8.22 | 9.07 | 0 |
| Ursus spelaeus (cave bear) | ND | 40 | NA | 14.69 | 19.20 | 0 |
| Equus ferus (horse) | 5.5 | 41 | 0.15, 0.01 | 15.81 | 17.09 | 0 |
| Vertebrate (ND) | 60 | ND | 0.99, ND | 11.17 | 10.53 | 0 |
| Megalonxy sp. (ground sloth) | 13 | ND | 0.33, 0.44 | 12.73 | 9.86 | 0 |
Molecular preservation of the samples analyzed. Ratio AA/DKP indicates the sum of peak heights (data not shown) for amino acids divided by the sum of the peak heights for 2,5-diketopiperazines. D/L ratios indicate the extent of racemization of aspartic acid and alanine (3). Also shown are the amounts (nmol/mg) of oxidative DNA lesions for 5-hydroxy-5-methylhydantoin (5-OH-5Me) and 5-hydroxyhydantoin (5-OH) (2) and the maximum number of base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA amplified. NA, not attempted; ND, not determined.
The extent of racemization measured on a piece of human epidermis.
The amounts of oxidative DNA lesions from a DNA control sample from modern tissue.
The assumed length of DNA amplifiable from modern human tissue.