DNA Fingerprinting of Pearls to Determine Their Origins

We report the first successful extraction of oyster DNA from a pearl and use it to identify the source oyster species for the three major pearl-producing oyster species Pinctada margaritifera, P. maxima and P. radiata. Both mitochondrial and nuclear gene fragments could be PCR-amplified and sequenced. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was developed and used to identify 18 pearls of unknown origin. A micro-drilling technique was developed to obtain small amounts of DNA while maintaining the commercial value of the pearls. This DNA fingerprinting method could be used to document the source of historic pearls and will provide more transparency for traders and consumers within the pearl industry

The state of the art of paleoparasitological research in the old world

Paleoparasitology in the Old World has mainly concerned the study of latrine sediments and coprolites collected from mummified bodies or archaeological strata, mostly preserved by natural conditions. Human parasites recovered include cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes. The well preserved conditions of helminth eggs allowed paleoepidemiological approaches taking into account the number of eggs found by archaeological stratum. Tentatively, sanitation conditions were assessed for each archaeological period

Paleoparasitology of Helminths

Paleopathology is the discipline that studies ancient diseases through the use of human skeletal or mummified remains. For these reasons it differs from the history of medicine, which debate on past medical theories, therapies and diseases by historical and literary sources. The paleopathology therefore is strictly linked to the application of traditional medicine methods but enriched and supported by other subjects like history, anthropology and archeology. An important branch of this discipline is the paleoparasitology, whose studies can be useful from a medical perspective and to understand other past events of human evolution, including conditions of hygiene, sanitation and nutritional adequacy. A central role is certainly played by the study of the helminths, in fact evidences of human ancient parasitism are largely recorded around the world, from prehistory to present age. The most important sources for the study of paleoparasitology are the coprolites, i.e. desiccated or mineralized feces, and the latrine soils, that can be recovered from archaeological layers or directly from mummified bodies. The recovery and analysis of these materials encourages an increasing cooperation among archaeologists, paleopathologists, and paleoparasitologists. To rehydrate desiccated coprolites, a trisodium phosphate solution is used, while different techniques are applied for the detection of parasites, like modified pollen analysis technique, detection of antigen in mummies and ancient DNA techniques. The paleoparasitology is not only a science of the past, but a useful discipline for the future, because with the understanding of parasite evolution, it is possible better comprehend modern diseases (Ewald, 1996)