Ancient DNA projects
Special challenges:
• Ancient DNA is degraded by nucleases
• The majority of DNA in samples derives from unrelated organisms such as bacteria that invaded after death
• The majority of DNA in samples is contaminated by human DNA
• Determination of authenticity requires special controls, and analysis of multiple independent extracts
Metagenomics projects
Two broad areas:
• Environmental (ecological)
e.g. hot spring, ocean, sludge, soil
• Organismal
e.g. human gut, feces, lung