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Ancient RNA

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Book cover Paleogenomics

Part of the book series: Population Genomics ((POGE))

Abstract

Compared to other ancient biomolecules such as DNA and proteins, ancient RNA is arguably the least studied. The reasons behind this are largely based on a relative lack of surviving material due to RNA’s molecular properties. Increasingly powerful and sensitive molecular methods however now allow for trace amounts of ancient RNA to be sequenced, to previously unthinkable depths, and doing so has made available a previously untapped layer of -omic information. It is becoming possible to ascertain the activity of an ancient genome in vivo, and thus assess environmental stresses and pathogen interaction, and uncover further epigenomic mechanisms. In this chapter we will explore the past, present, and future applications of the new paleotranscriptomics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Oliver Smith

  2. Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Oliver Smith & M. Thomas P. Gilbert

  3. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University Museum, Trondheim, Norway

    M. Thomas P. Gilbert

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  1. Oliver Smith
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  2. M. Thomas P. Gilbert
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Correspondence to Oliver Smith .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, USA

    Charlotte Lindqvist

  2. Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada

    Om P. Rajora

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Smith, O., Gilbert, M.T.P. (2018). Ancient RNA. In: Lindqvist, C., Rajora, O. (eds) Paleogenomics. Population Genomics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/13836_2018_17

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