surface metagenome raw sequence reads of smuggled statues. surface metagenome

In this study, three possibly smuggled marble statues of an unknown origin, two human torsos - one female and one male - and a small young girl head, were subjected to molecular analyses in order to infer the origin and the possible relationship among the three statues. A genetic strategy comprising metagenomics analyses of the 16S rDNA of prokaryotes, 18S rDNA of Eukaryotes as well as ITS regions of fungi, was performed by using the Ion Torrent sequencing platform. The data were used to infer the storage history and the geographical shift of the samples, as well as to consider a possible relationship among them.