AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR ISOLATING DNA FROM HISTORICAL SPECIMENS OF BALEEN

DNA was isolated from an early twentieth century museum specimen of no rthern right whale baleen. A system of stringent controls and a novel set of cetacean specific primers eliminated contamination from externa l sources and ensured the authenticity of the results. Sequence analys is revealed that there were informative nucleotide positions between t he museum specimen and extant members of the population and closely re lated species. The results indicate that museum specimens of baleen ca n be used to assess historical genetic population structure of the gre at whales.