The capacity to release genetic material into the extracellular medium has been reported in
cultures of numerous species of bacteria, archaea, and fungi, and also in the context of …

Under favorable conditions DNA can survive for thousands of years in the remains of dead
organisms. The DNA extracted from such remains is invariably degraded to a small average …

Claims of extreme survival of DNA have emphasized the need for reliable models of DNA
degradation through time. By analysing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 158 radiocarbon …

A comprehensive compendium on the taxonomy and biology of the 3106 living and fossil
species of the world's termites is presented, along with reviews of Isoptera morphology and …

Although DNA is the carrier of genetic information, it has limited chemical stability.
Hydrolysis, oxidation and nonenzymatic methylation of DNA occur at significant rates in vivo …

▪ Abstract About 20 years ago, DNA sequences were separately described from the quagga
(a type of zebra) and an ancient Egyptian individual. What made these DNA sequences …

In the past two decades, ancient DNA research has progressed from the retrieval of small
fragments of mitochondrial DNA from a few late Holocene specimens, to large-scale studies …

The introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has called for an improved
understanding of the fate of DNA in various environments, because extracellular DNA may …

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) provides a simple, ingenious method to exponentially
amplify specific DNA sequences by in vitro DNA synthesis. Three essential steps to PCR …

Deposits of fossilized tree resins, or amber, occur throughout the world and range in age
from Carboniferous to Holocene, produced by myriads of vascular plants. Small organisms …