Detecting Dinosaur DNA

摘要

The fact that DNA sequence can be obtained from fossil organisms has opened new windows of opportunity for research in organismal and molecular evolution (1). Among these is the possibility of obtaining genetic information from major groups of ganismsnow extinct. Recently, S. R. Woodward et al. sequenced DNA from a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from Cretaceous bone fragments apparently from a dinosaur that lived 80 miltion years ago (2). However, the likely source of those DNA sequences appears to be human contamination.