Ozboneprot: A de novo sequencing workflow to enable shotgun palaeoproteomics on Australian zooarchaeological and paleontological samples
preprint · Research Square · 2026
| Date | 2026-06-02 |
| Type | preprint |
| Venue | Research Square |
| Publisher | Research Square |
| Contribution | downstream-application |
| DOI | 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9603698/v1 |
| Citations (OpenAlex) | 0 |
Abstract
Bone fragmentation comprises a major challenge in the interpretation of past human behaviour and past biodiversity from palaeontological and zooarchaeological assemblages. In many archaeological assemblages, bone elements identifiable to taxa comprise less than 10% of all bone recovered, as the identification of fragmented postcranial elements impedes conclusive taxonomic assignments. To overcome these limitations, the analysis of ancient bone protein (palaeoproteomics) has emerged as a promising approach complementing traditional morphological identifications. Nevertheless, shotgun palaeoproteomics has not been extensively applied to Australian contexts, in part due to the lack of accessible published protein reference sequences. Here we introduce Ozboneprot, a project aimed at the creation of de novo sequences for 21 common proteins likely to be preserved in postcranial zooarchaeological and palaeontological skeletal elements. Through the combination of homology predicted sequences, tandem mass-spectrometry analysis, manual validation and label-free quantification of identified unique peptides, Ozboneprot proposes a methodological pipeline for the publication of open access protein sequences to facilitate zooarchaeological and palaeontological analysis of Australian marsupials, a workflow readily applicable to other species of interest.
Methods and tools
- Ozboneprot: Workflow for de novo sequencing and validation of bone proteins to support shotgun palaeoproteomics on Australian zooarchaeological and palaeontological samples.