AuthentiCT

AuthentiCT estimates present-day DNA contamination in ancient DNA datasets by analyzing characteristic post-mortem damage patterns in single-stranded DNA sequencing libraries.

Key Features:

• Ancient DNA Contamination Estimation: Quantifies the proportion of modern DNA contamination in ancient DNA sequencing data.
• Post-Mortem Damage Detection: Identifies characteristic ancient DNA damage patterns caused by chemical degradation over time.
• Low-Coverage Sensitivity: Performs contamination estimation using as few as 10,000 mapped sequencing reads.
• Single-Stranded Library Support: Designed for analysis of ancient DNA data generated from single-stranded DNA libraries.

Scientific Applications:

• Ancient DNA Quality Assessment: Evaluates contamination levels in ancient DNA sequencing datasets.
• Paleogenomics Research: Supports reliable analysis of genetic material from archaeological and historical samples.
• Evolutionary and Population Genetics: Enables accurate interpretation of ancient genomic data by distinguishing authentic ancient sequences from modern contamination.

Methodology:

AuthentiCT analyzes mapped sequencing reads to detect post-mortem DNA damage patterns characteristic of ancient DNA and estimates contamination by distinguishing these damaged sequences from undamaged modern DNA reads.