MOLECULAR COPROSCOPY - DUNG AND DIET OF THE EXTINCT GROUND SLOTH NOTHROTHERIOPS SHASTENSIS

DNA from excrements can be amplified by means of the polymerase chain reaction. However, this has not been possible with ancient feces. Cros s-Links between reducing sugars and amino groups were shown to exist i n a Pleistocene coprolite from Gypsum Cave, Nevada. A chemical agent, N-phenacylthiazolium bromide,,that cleaves such cross-links made it po ssible to amplify DNA sequences. Analyses of these DNA sequences showe d that the coprolite is derived from an extinct sloth, presumably the Shasta ground sloth Nothrotheriops shastensis. Plant DNA sequences fro m seven groups of plants were identified in the coprolite. The plant a ssemblage that formed part of the sloth's diet exists today at elevati ons about 800 meters higher than the cave.