Display options
Cite
Voong CP, Spencer PS, Navarrete CV, et al. HLA-DR Genotyping and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Reveal the Presence of Family Burials in a Fourth Century Romano-British Christian Cemetery. Front Genet. 2017;8:182doi: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00182.
Voong, C. P., Spencer, P. S., Navarrete, C. V., Turner, D., Hayrabedyan, S. B., Crummy, P., Holloway, E., Wilson, M. T., Smith, P. R., & Fernández, N. (2017). HLA-DR Genotyping and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Reveal the Presence of Family Burials in a Fourth Century Romano-British Christian Cemetery. Frontiers in genetics, 8182. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2017.00182
Voong, Canh P, et al. "HLA-DR Genotyping and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Reveal the Presence of Family Burials in a Fourth Century Romano-British Christian Cemetery." Frontiers in genetics vol. 8 (2017): 182. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2017.00182
Voong CP, Spencer PS, Navarrete CV, Turner D, Hayrabedyan SB, Crummy P, Holloway E, Wilson MT, Smith PR, Fernández N. HLA-DR Genotyping and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Reveal the Presence of Family Burials in a Fourth Century Romano-British Christian Cemetery. Front Genet. 2017 Dec 05;8:182. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00182. eCollection 2017. PMID: 29259620; PMCID: PMC5723391.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Front Genet. 2017 Dec 05;8:182. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00182. eCollection 2017.

HLA-DR Genotyping and Mitochondrial DNA Analysis Reveal the Presence of Family Burials in a Fourth Century Romano-British Christian Cemetery.

Frontiers in genetics

Canh P Voong, Patrick S Spencer, Cristina V Navarrete, David Turner, Soren B Hayrabedyan, Philip Crummy, Emma Holloway, Mike T Wilson, Patricia R Smith, Nelson Fernández

Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom.
  2. Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, NHS Blood and Transplant, London, United Kingdom.
  3. Division of Infection and Immunity, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
  4. Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
  5. Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction, "Akad. Kiril Bratanov," Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Sofia, Bulgaria.
  6. Colchester Archaeological Trust, Colchester, United Kingdom.
  7. MAPI Group, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 29259620 PMCID: PMC5723391 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00182

Abstract

In Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, during the Roman period there were areas which were clearly used solely as cemeteries. One of the most significant is at Butt Road, which includes a late Roman probable Christian cemetery with an associated building, apparently a church, that overlies and developed from a pagan inhumation cemetery. DNA was extracted from the long bones (femurs) of 29 individuals, mostly from a large complex of burials centered on two timber vaults. These were thought to comprise a number of family groupings, deduced from osteological analysis, stratigraphical and other considerations. The use of a modified version of the silica-based purification method recovered nanogram quantities of DNA/gram of bone. Two-stage amplification, incorporating primer-extension preamplification-polymerase chain reaction, permitted simultaneous amplification of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes yielded human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR typing of seven samples, with four revealing the infrequent HLA-DR10 genotype. Examination of the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) by direct sequencing revealed polymorphisms yet to be reported in the modern population. HLA-DRB typing and mtDNA analysis affirmatively supported kinship among some, if not all, individuals in the "vault complex" and demonstrate a continental European origin of the individuals investigated.

Keywords: Colchester (Camulodunum); HLA-DR; extramural fourth century Romano-British cemetery; family groupings; mtDNA

References

  1. Ann Hum Genet. 2002 Jul;66(Pt 4):261-83 - PubMed
  2. J Forensic Sci. 1992 Jan;37(1):6-20 - PubMed
  3. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jul 1;89(13):5847-51 - PubMed
  4. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 Mar;28(3):495-503 - PubMed
  5. Am J Hum Genet. 1991 Feb;48(2):370-82 - PubMed
  6. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(16):6230-4 - PubMed
  7. Int J Paleopathol. 2016 Dec;15:39-49 - PubMed
  8. Nucleic Acids Res. 1993 Aug 11;21(16):3913-4 - PubMed

Publication Types