Half life of DNA in bones

Value 521 years
Organism Extinct New Zealand moa
Reference Morten E. Allentoft et al., The half-life of DNA in bone: measuring decay kinetics in 158 dated fossils, Proc Biol Sci. 2012 Dec 7 279(1748):4724-33. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1745 abstract and p.4727 right column 3rd paragraph and p.4729 fig.4bPubMed ID23055061
Method P.4725 right column 2nd paragraph:"In an attempt to document a correlation between sample age and DNA preservation, [researchers] use a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) design to measure relative copy numbers of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments from bones of the extinct New Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes)."
Comments Abstract:"The average DNA half-life within this geographically constrained fossil assemblage was estimated to be 521 years for a 242 bp mtDNA sequence, corresponding to a per nucleotide fragmentation rate (k) of 5.5×10^–6 per year."
Entered by Uri M
ID 108267