Bower, Mim A.; Campana, Michael G.; Checkley-Scott, Caroline; Knight, Barry ; Howe, Christopher J.; "The potential for extraction and exploitation of DNA from parchment: a review of the opportunities and hurdles", Journal of the Institute of Conservation 33(1) (2010) 1-11
DOI: 10.1080/19455220903509937 (restricted access)
Abstract:
The isolation and analysis of DNA from parchment has the potential to provide a great deal of information about the material that was difficult or impossible to obtain before. We review progress in recovering DNA from other ancient and historic materials, and the limited amount of work done so far with parchment and other manuscript material. We discuss the likelihood of being able to recover well preserved DNA from parchment, and the questions that could in principle be addressed. Finally, we comment on the technical advances needed for the field to develop significantly and reliably, and implications for conservators.