Analysis of the Putative Remains of a European Patron Saint–St. Birgitta

Abstract

Saint Birgitta (Saint Bridget of Sweden) lived between 1303 and 1373 and was designated one of Europe's six patron saints by the Pope in 1999. According to legend, the skulls of St. Birgitta and her daughter Katarina are maintained in a relic shrine in Vadstena abbey, mid Sweden. The origin of the two skulls was assessed first by analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to confirm a maternal relationship. The results of this analysis displayed several differences between the two individuals, thus supporting an interpretation of the two skulls not being individuals that are maternally related. Because the efficiency of PCR amplification and quantity of DNA suggested a different amount of degradation and possibly a very different age for each of the skulls, an orthogonal procedure, radiocarbon dating, was performed. The radiocarbon dating results suggest an age difference of at least 200 years and neither of the dating results coincides with the period St. Birgitta or her daughter Katarina lived. The relic, thought to originate from St. Birgitta, has an age corresponding to the 13th century (1215–1270 cal AD, 2σ confidence), which is older than expected. Thus, the two different analyses are consistent in questioning the authenticity of either of the human skulls maintained in the Vadstena relic shrine being that of St. Birgitta. Of course there are limitations when interpreting the data of any ancient biological materials and these must be considered for a final decision on the authenticity of the remains.

Genetic genealogy reveals true Y haplogroup of House of Bourbon contradicting recent identification of the presumed remains of two French Kings

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Comparison of DNA polymerases for improved forensic analysis of challenging samples

“…A 221 bp long mtDNA fragment was amplified for 40 cycles using the primers IFb16128 and IR16348 using a TaqGold protocol optimized for degraded bone samples [14]. The primer concentrations and other PCR conditions for the other enzymes were based on the enzyme manufacturer's recommendations.…”

“…Mitochondrial DNA sequencing was performed on the 221 bp mtDNA PCR fragment using IFb16128 and IR16348 as sequencing primers [14]. Sanger sequencing was performed using a 3730xl ABI Genetic Analyzer and the BigDye 1 Terminator v. …”

Multiplex pyrosequencing of InDel markers for forensic DNA analysis

“…One disadvantage of pyrosequencing is that the read length is shorter compared with Sanger sequencing. Although limited to the sequence analysis of shorter stretches of DNA, pyrosequencing has proven valuable for several applications in forensic DNA analyses [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The light that is produced by PPi is proportional to the number of incorporated nucleotides.…”