Saving Old Bones: a non-destructive method for bone collagen prescreening

Sponheimer, Matt; Ryder, Christina M.; Fewlass, Helen; Smith, Erin K.; Pestle, William J.; Talamo, Sahra

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50443-2

Cited by 45 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…However, even if DNA decay accelerates with increasing collagen hydrolysis, screening archaeological bone using collagen analysis is typically a destructive method, (but see the recent report of the successful use of near-infrared [72]) is also relatively time-consuming and labour-intensive, while the widespread use of an additional ultrafiltration step can have a strong influence on the collagen yields [73][74][75]. Therefore, while collagen yield seems to be an effective method to predict endogenous DNA content, it is most useful as an additional…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Screening archaeological bone for palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic studies

et al. 2020

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The recovery and analysis of ancient DNA and protein from archaeological bone is timeconsuming and expensive to carry out, while it involves the partial or complete destruction of valuable or rare specimens. The fields of palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic research would benefit greatly from techniques that can assess the molecular quality prior to sampling. To be relevant, such screening methods should be effective, minimally-destructive, and rapid. This study reports results based on spectroscopic (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance [FTIR-ATR]; n = 266), palaeoproteomic (collagen content; n = 226), and palaeogenetic (endogenous DNA content; n = 88) techniques. We establish thresholds for three different FTIR indices, a) the infrared splitting factor [IRSF] that assesses relative changes in bioapatite crystals' size and homogeneity; b) the carbonate-to-phosphate [C/P] ratio as a relative measure of carbonate content in bioapatite crystals; and c) the amide-to-phosphate ratio [Am/P] for assessing the relative organic content preserved in bone. These thresholds are both extremely reliable and easy to apply for the successful and rapid distinction between well-and poorly-preserved specimens. This is

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Screening archaeological bone for palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic studies

et al. 2020

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“…Despite its potential, few studies have used spectroscopic techniques to determine collagen preservation in archaeological bone [21][22][23][24][25] . Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been regarded as a suitable method to explore the structure of collagen [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] , by relating FTIR absorption bands (of the amide I, II and III) to specific chemical bonds and secondary structural features (α-helix, β-sheets, β-turns and random coils), even in the most recent investigations 32 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Linking structural and compositional changes in archaeological human bone collagen: an FTIR-ATR approach

Cortizas

López-Costas

2020

Sci Rep

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Collagen is the main structural and most abundant protein in the human body, and it is routinely extracted and analysed in scientific archaeology. Its degree of preservation is, therefore, crucial and several approaches are used to determine it. Spectroscopic techniques provide a cost-effective, non-destructive method to investigate the molecular structure, especially when combined with multivariate statistics (chemometric approach). In this study, we used FTIR-ATR spectroscopy to characterise collagen extracted from skeletons recovered from necropoleis in NW Spain spanning from the Bronze Age to eighteenth century AD. Principal components analysis was performed on a selection of bands and structural equation models (SEM) were developed to relate the collagen quality indicators to collagen structural change. Four principal components represented: (i) Cp1, transformations of the backbone protein with a residual increase in proteoglycans; (ii) Cp2, protein transformations not accompanied by changes in proteoglycans abundance; (iii) Cp3, variations in aliphatic side chains and (iv) Cp4, absorption of the OH of carbohydrates and amide. Highly explanatory SEM models were obtained for the traditional collagen quality indicators (collagen yield, C, N, C:N), but no relationship was found between quality and δ13C and δ15N ratios. The observed decrease in C and N content and increase in C:N ratios is controlled by the degradation of protein backbone components and the relative preservation of carbon-rich compounds, proteoglycans and, to a lesser extent, aliphatic moieties. Our results suggest that FTIR-ATR is an ideal technique for collagen characterization/pre-screening for palaeodiet, mobility and radiocarbon research.

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“…It is always good practice to (pre)screen samples for collagen preservation [ 107 ]. Methods and metrics include percentage yield of collagen after each pretreatment step, atomic C : N (carbon : nitrogen) ratios, stable C and N isotope values [ 29 ], whole-bone %N [ 108 ] and, less frequently, relatively expensive but extremely quantitative HPLC [ 47 , 48 , 109 ] and near-infrared spectroscopic methods [ 110 ]. Several respondents (#11, 16, 50, 67, 121 and 127: electronic supplementary material, appendix SC, table S2) remarked the importance of those quality indicators in routine research work using 14 C data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone need not remain an elephant in the room for radiocarbon dating

Herrando‐Pérez

2021

R. Soc. open sci.

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Radiocarbon ( 14 C) analysis of skeletal remains by accelerator mass spectrometry is an essential tool in multiple branches of science. However, bone 14 C dating results can be inconsistent and not comparable due to disparate laboratory pretreatment protocols that remove contamination. And, pretreatments are rarely discussed or reported by end-users, making it an ‘elephant in the room’ for Quaternary scientists. Through a questionnaire survey, I quantified consensus on the reliability of collagen pretreatments for 14 C dating across 132 experts (25 countries). I discovered that while more than 95% of the audience was wary of contamination and would avoid gelatinization alone (minimum pretreatment used by most 14 C facilities), 52% asked laboratories to choose the pretreatment method for them, and 58% could not rank the reliability of at least one pretreatment. Ultrafiltration was highly popular, and purification by XAD resins seemed restricted to American researchers. Isolating and dating the amino acid hydroxyproline was perceived as the most reliable pretreatment, but is expensive, time-consuming and not widely available. Solid evidence supports that only molecular-level dating accommodates all known bone contaminants and guarantees complete removal of humic and fulvic acids and conservation substances, with three key areas of progress: (i) innovation and more funded research is required to develop affordable analytical chemistry that can handle low-mass samples of collagen amino acids, (ii) a certification agency overseeing dating-quality control is needed to enhance methodological reproducibility and dating accuracy among laboratories, and (iii) more cross-disciplinary work with better 14 C reporting etiquette will promote the integration of 14 C dating across disciplines. Those developments could conclude long-standing debates based on low-accuracy data used to build chronologies for animal domestications, human/megafauna extirpations and migrations, archaeology, palaeoecology, palaeontology and palaeoclimate models.

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Saving Old Bones: a non-destructive method for bone collagen prescreening

Cited by 45 publications

References 56 publications

Screening archaeological bone for palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic studies

Screening archaeological bone for palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic studies

Linking structural and compositional changes in archaeological human bone collagen: an FTIR-ATR approach

Bone need not remain an elephant in the room for radiocarbon dating

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