Zastosowanie analiz kopalnego DNA w badaniach osadów czwartorzędowych

During the past few decades genetic research has been developed in parallel with paleogenetics. A dynamic progress in this field of studies is possible due to the advance in laboratory and computer technologies. Today, scientists have the Next Generation Sequencing methods at their disposal, which enable them to read millions ofsequences at the same time, thus furthermore significantly reducing time needed for laboratory procedures. Concurrently, costs of analysis and equipment have been decreasing, which makes paleogenetical analyses widely available. They are commonly used in medicine, biotechnology, genetic engineering, food industry and forensics, as well as in life sciences like biology, paleobiology, archeology, geology and environmental protection sciences. This paper presents seda DNA (sedimentary ancient DNA) analyses and their use in Quaternary research, as well as describes sources of DNA in sediments and main processes contributing to its degradation or preservation.