A multidisciplinary study of archaeological grape seeds

TY - JOUR

T1 - A multidisciplinary study of archaeological grape seeds

AU - Cappellini, Enrico

AU - Gilbert, Tom

AU - Geuna, Filippo

AU - Fiorentino, Girolamo

AU - Hall, Allan

AU - Thomas-Oates, Jane

AU - Ashton, Peter D.

AU - Ashford, David A.

AU - Arthur, Paul

AU - Campos, Paula

AU - Kool, Johan

AU - Willerslev, Eske

AU - Collins, Matthew J.

PY - 2010/2/1

Y1 - 2010/2/1

N2 - We report here the first integrated investigation of both ancient DNA and proteins in archaeobotanical samples: medieval grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seeds, preserved by anoxic waterlogging, from an early medieval (seventh-eighth century A.D.) Byzantine rural settlement in the Salento area (Lecce, Italy) and a late (fourteenth-fifteenth century A.D.) medieval site in York (England). Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry documented good carbohydrate preservation, whilst amino acid analysis revealed approximately 90% loss of the original protein content. In the York sample, mass spectrometry-based sequencing identified several degraded ancient peptides. Nuclear microsatellite locus (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, ZAG62 and ZAG79) analysis permitted a tentative comparison of the genetic profiles of both the ancient samples with the modern varieties. The ability to recover microsatellite DNA has potential to improve biomolecular analysis on ancient grape seeds from archaeological contexts. Although the investigation of five microsatellite loci cannot assign the ancient samples to any geographic region or modern cultivar, the results allow speculation that the material from York was not grown locally, whilst the remains from Supersano could represent a trace of contacts with the eastern Mediterranean.

AB - We report here the first integrated investigation of both ancient DNA and proteins in archaeobotanical samples: medieval grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seeds, preserved by anoxic waterlogging, from an early medieval (seventh-eighth century A.D.) Byzantine rural settlement in the Salento area (Lecce, Italy) and a late (fourteenth-fifteenth century A.D.) medieval site in York (England). Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry documented good carbohydrate preservation, whilst amino acid analysis revealed approximately 90% loss of the original protein content. In the York sample, mass spectrometry-based sequencing identified several degraded ancient peptides. Nuclear microsatellite locus (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, ZAG62 and ZAG79) analysis permitted a tentative comparison of the genetic profiles of both the ancient samples with the modern varieties. The ability to recover microsatellite DNA has potential to improve biomolecular analysis on ancient grape seeds from archaeological contexts. Although the investigation of five microsatellite loci cannot assign the ancient samples to any geographic region or modern cultivar, the results allow speculation that the material from York was not grown locally, whilst the remains from Supersano could represent a trace of contacts with the eastern Mediterranean.

KW - Agriculture

KW - Archaeology

KW - Climate

KW - DNA, Plant

KW - History, Medieval

KW - Mediterranean Region

KW - Plant Proteins

KW - Polymerase Chain Reaction

KW - Seeds

KW - Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

KW - Vitis

KW - Water Supply

KW - Wine

U2 - 10.1007/s00114-009-0629-3

DO - 10.1007/s00114-009-0629-3

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 20033124

SN - 0028-1042

VL - 97

SP - 205

EP - 217

JO - Naturwissenschaften

JF - Naturwissenschaften

IS - 2

ER -