Hair and feathers are hollow, having had living tissue on the inside.
They thus tend to have more DNA than shell and periostracum.  Some
success at amplifying DNA from shells after about a year post-mortem
has been reported.

The other challenge is that a lot of data are available, including
complete sequences, for mammals and birds, but we don't have any
well-documented and formally published mollusk nuclear genomes yet, so
we don't have as good a grasp on exactly what sequences to try for on
a potentially interesting old shell or operc.

On Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 1:35 PM, Allen Aigen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Since hair and feathers have both been shown to be useful for DNA
> studies, I wonder if anyone has tried similar techniques on opercula or
> periostraca or ligaments?
>
> Allen Aigen
> [log in to unmask]
> NYC
>
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--
Dr. David Campbell
The Paleontological Research Institution
1259 Trumansburg Road
Ithaca NY 14850

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