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Geology; May 2006; v. 34; no. 5; p. 381-384; DOI: 10.1130/G22408.1
© 2006 Geological Society of America
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Carbon stable isotope composition of DNA isolated from an incipient paleosol

A. Hope Jahren*,1, Kellie Kelm2, Beverly Wendland2, Gitte Petersen3 and Ole Seberg3

1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
2 Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
3 Botanical Institute, Department of Evolutionary Botany, University of Copenhagen, Gothersgade 140,DK-1123 Copenhagen K, Denmark

We determined the carbon isotope ({delta}13C) value of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) isolated from the organic horizons of a Delaware soil that is actively being covered by an encroaching sand dune. The soil belongs to a Nymphaea odorata Ait. (water lily) wetland, and we regard its active acquisition of a thick (~24 cm) surface mantle to embody the process of paleopedogenesis; therefore, we have termed it an "incipient paleosol." In this study, we compared the {delta}13C value of paleosol dsDNA to the bulk {delta}13C value of N. odorata, as well as to the {delta}13C value of plants that had colonized the surface mantle. The isotopic offset between paleosol {delta}13CdsDNA and N. odorata {delta}13Ctissue was identical to the relationship between {delta}13CdsDNA and {delta}13Ctissue for tracheophytes, which we had previously determined. In contrast, the isotopic offset between paleosol {delta}13CdsDNA and the {delta}13Ctissue of plants colonizing the surface mantle differed from this relationship by as much as 4{per thousand}. Similarly, the {delta}13C value of bulk paleosol organic matter was extremely heterogeneous and varied across 6{per thousand}. All paleosol DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products produced clear, sharp, 350 base-pair (bp) fragments of rbcL, a gene shared by all photosynthetic organisms. These results open the exciting possibility that stable isotope analysis of dsDNA isolated from paleosol organic matter can be used to infer the {delta}13C value of the plant that dominated the nucleic acid contribution.

Key Words: paleosol • DNA • carbon • stable isotope






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