Single-pollen genotyping of Holocene lake sediments

In this study, we present a DNA genotyping method of fossil pollen of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) Karst) extracted from Holocene lake sediments (f rom the last 11,500 years). The genetic analysis of pollen of different ages extracted from different lake sediments allows the direct evaluation of the history and dynamics of genotypes in ancient plant taxa and the microevolutionary processes that occurr ed in the recent past ; this method greatly contributes toward elucidating plant movement in space and time. However, genotyping ancient material is complicated with several technical difficulties and requires careful execution and practical expertise .