Proteomics and Genomics as Identification Procedures in Human Anthropology

Abstract

Context: Since most scientists tend to investigate live biological samples, there is inadequate data on efficient molecular techniques for the anthropological sciences. In this short review, multiple methods were mentioned and compared to provide a brief insight into the application of genomics and proteomics on the post-mortal specimen. Evidence Acquisition: Through the use of proper keywords, the PubMed and Elsevier databases were selected for acquiring relevant articles. Results: During cell death, DNA and proteins degenerate, hence, it is difficult to perform molecular assessments efficiently. Fortunately, with the aid of novel techniques, including uracil-N-glycosylase (UNG) and N-phenacylthiazolium bromide (PTB), we could partly recover the damaged DNA, and by applying PTB-DTT and Qiagen kit, we could analyze the remaining DNA with high efficiency. Nevertheless, there are countless gene sites for molecular studies, and the hypervariable region I (HVRI) of the D-loop in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome microsatellites (Y-STRs) are two potential sites for anthropological studies. Finally, we could utilize proteomics in the remaining mineralization samples of a corpse to study protein variation and different phenotypes in human beings. Conclusions: Genomics and proteomics are two domains of molecular studies in which we can gather useful information about the events which occur in a cell over time. These domains give us data about the Archeological and Anthropological sciences.