Publication:
Mitochondrial genome reconstruction of Rattus rattus obtained from an owl pellet from Tres Bocas Cave in the Dominican Republics

dc.contributor.advisor Van-Dam, Alex
dc.contributor.author Massini-Espino, Marlys E.
dc.contributor.college College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Santos-Flores, Carlos J. en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Locke, Sean en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Acosta-Martínez, Jaime A. en_US
dc.contributor.department Department of Biology en_US
dc.contributor.representative Cruzado-Vélez, Ivette
dc.date.accessioned 2019-03-01T12:15:54Z
dc.date.available 2019-03-01T12:15:54Z
dc.date.issued 2018-12-10
dc.description.abstract Molecules of DNA are ubiquitous in the environment and a rich source of biological information, but because DNA degrades rapidly in tropical climates studies of ancient DNA in the Caribbean have been limited until recently. Fossilized owl pellets are one potential source of ancient DNA with useful phylogenetic information. In this study, we obtained a fossilized Rattus rattus sample from an owl pellet excavated from Tres Bocas Cave in the Dominican Republic. We sequenced DNA pooled from three rat maxillae from the pellet, annotated the mitochondrial genome and compared the sequence to contemporary data from R. rattus from other studies. Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis showed the sample from the Dominican Republic was nested within a clade of R. rattus from Madagascar and East Africa. The sequence from R. rattus from the Dominican Republic had few nucleotide misincorporations, suggesting a recent origin, which was corroborated with 14C isotope ratios that indicated the sample dates from 1960-70. We have demonstrated that phylogenetic information can be obtained from DNA from bones in decades-old pellets in a tropical region, which validates an ancient DNA extraction technique and indicates further sampling in the Caribbean may prove fruitful. en_US
dc.description.graduationSemester Fall en_US
dc.description.graduationYear 2018 en_US
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11801/1821
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.rights.holder (c) 2018 Marlys E. Massini-Espino en_US
dc.rights.license All rights reserved en_US
dc.subject Ancient DNA en_US
dc.subject Rattus rattus en_US
dc.subject Phylogeny en_US
dc.subject Mitochondrial genome en_US
dc.subject Tropics en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Mitochondrial DNA -- Analysis en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Rattus rattus -- Genetics en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Rattus rattus -- Dominican Republic -- Phylogeny en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Rattus rattus -- Tres Bocas cave (Dominican Republic) en_US
dc.title Mitochondrial genome reconstruction of Rattus rattus obtained from an owl pellet from Tres Bocas Cave in the Dominican Republics en_US
dc.type Thesis en_US
dspace.entity.type Publication
thesis.degree.discipline Biology en_US
thesis.degree.level M.S. en_US
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