A frozen baby mammoth and a fossilized mammoth tooth seen up close — Prehistoric microbes: the oldest DNA in the world found in a mammoth | La Derecha Diario

Camara — Prehistoric microbes: the oldest DNA in the world found in a mammoth | La Derecha Diario

The oldest microbial DNA in history has been found in a mammoth tooth

Swedish scientists found microbial DNA over a million years old in a mammoth tooth, the oldest ever recorded

04/09/2025 09:05:00h

Editorial Team

A mammoth tooth found in the frozen steppes of Eurasia revealed a shocking discovery. Swedish scientists found inside it microbes over a million years old, the DNA associated with the oldest host ever recovered.

The research, published in the journal Cell, opens an unprecedented window to understand how microbes coexisted, caused disease, and influenced the fate of the megafauna of the Ice Age.

Three people in lab coats and gloves examine a mummified baby mammoth on a table while someone takes a photo with a cellphone, and in the background there is a panel with related images.

Swedish scientists found microbes over a million years old inside it | La Derecha Diario

A microscopic archive from the Pleistocene

The study analyzed 483 mammoth remains, of which 440 were sequenced for the first time. Among them, a steppe specimen that lived 1.1 million years ago stood out. That fossil became a true biological time capsule.

The specialists separated the original microbes from those that infiltrated after the animal's death. Thanks to advanced metagenomic techniques, they managed to identify 310 microorganisms, although only six clades proved to be consistent and reliable.

What bacteria were found?

Among the detected genera were Actinobacillus, Pasteurella, Streptococcus, and Erysipelothrix. Some strains had virulence factors, meaning the ability to cause disease.

Fossilized mammoth tooth with wavy and circular patterns in brown and beige tones held by a gloved hand.

What bacteria were found? | La Derecha Diario

A striking case was that of a bacterium similar to Pasteurella, linked to deadly infections in present-day African elephants. This raises inevitable questions: did mammoths suffer similar epidemics that could have influenced their extinction?

The oldest validated microbial DNA ever

The most impressive finding was a partial genome of Erysipelothrix recovered from the steppe mammoth. According to the researchers, this is the oldest host-associated microbial DNA ever confirmed.

Frozen and partially preserved woolly mammoth calf on a white table in a room with a light-tiled floor

The most impressive finding was a partial Erysipelothrix genome recovered from the steppe mammoth | La Derecha Diario

For Tom van der Valk, the finding demonstrates that fossil remains can preserve biological information far beyond the host's DNA.

Microbes as allies and threats

The analysis suggests that certain microbes accompanied mammoths for hundreds of thousands of years. Some may have acted as allies, while others represented a constant threat to their survival.

The research not only contributes to paleontology, it also helps to understand the evolution of diseases that still affect living species.

Two people pose next to a partially unearthed mammoth fossil on rocky ground.

Researchers Gavril Novgorodov and Erel Struchkov pose next to the mammoth | La Derecha Diario

A new frontier in science

The work opens the door to studying the microbiome of other extinct animals such as woolly rhinoceroses, wild horses, or cave lions. It even raises future scenarios about the possible "resurrection" of species like the mammoth.

➡️ Argentina