Researchers reconstruct mitochondrial genome of Middle Pleistocene cave bear

(Phys.org) —Researchers have reconstructed the mitochondrial genome of a Middle Pleistocene cave bear using a bone sample found in Spain. This is the first time anyone has reconstructed such an old genome from a sample found outside the tundra. To reproduce the genome, Matthias Meyer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and his team devised a new technique for stringing together small DNA strands. In addition to recreating the genome, the team were able to reconstruct the cave bear's phylogeny. The research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.