{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "816460b249d6412c9d4739b32181e1cb", "timestamp": "2026-09-30T22:58:48.400Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/816460b249d6412c9d4739b32181e1cb.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/816460b249d6412c9d4739b32181e1cb"}}, "title": "Ancient host-associated microbes obtained from mammoth remains.", "authors": [{"family": "Guinet", "given": "Benjamin", "initials": "B"}, {"family": "Oskolkov", "given": "Nikolay", "initials": "N"}, {"family": "Moreland", "given": "Kelsey", "initials": "K"}, {"family": "Dehasque", "given": "Marianne", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Chac\u00f3n-Duque", "given": "J Camilo", "initials": "JC"}, {"family": "Angerbj\u00f6rn", "given": "Anders", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Arsuaga", "given": "Juan Luis", "initials": "JL"}, {"family": "Danilov", "given": "Gleb", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Kanellidou", "given": "Foteini", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Kitchener", "given": "Andrew C", "initials": "AC"}, {"family": "Muller", "given": "H\u00e9lo\u00efse", "initials": "H"}, {"family": "Plotnikov", "given": "Valerii", "initials": "V"}, {"family": "Protopopov", "given": "Albert", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Tikhonov", "given": "Alexei", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Termes", "given": "Laura", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Zazula", "given": "Grant", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Mortensen", "given": "Peter", "initials": "P"}, {"family": "Grigorieva", "given": "Lena", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Richards", "given": "Michael", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Shapiro", "given": "Beth", "initials": "B"}, {"family": "Lister", "given": "Adrian M", "initials": "AM"}, {"family": "Vartanyan", "given": "Sergey", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "D\u00edez-Del-Molino", "given": "David", "initials": "D"}, {"family": "G\u00f6therstr\u00f6m", "given": "Anders", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Pe\u010dnerov\u00e1", "given": "Patr\u00edcia", "initials": "P"}, {"family": "Nikolskiy", "given": "Pavel", "initials": "P"}, {"family": "Dal\u00e9n", "given": "Love", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "van der Valk", "given": "Tom", "initials": "T"}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2025-11-13", "journal": {"title": "Cell", "issn": "1097-4172", "volume": "188", "issue": "23", "pages": "6606-6619.e24", "issn-l": "0092-8674"}, "abstract": "Ancient genomic studies have extensively explored human-microbial interactions, yet research on non-human animals remains limited. In this study, we analyzed ancient microbial DNA from 483 mammoth remains spanning over 1 million years, including 440 newly sequenced and unpublished samples from a 1.1-million-year-old steppe mammoth. Using metagenomic screening, contaminant filtering, damage pattern analysis, and phylogenetic inference, we identified 310 microbes associated with different mammoth tissues. While most microbes were environmental or post-mortem colonizers, we recovered genomic evidence of six host-associated microbial clades spanning Actinobacillus, Pasteurella, Streptococcus, and Erysipelothrix. Some of these clades contained putative virulence factors, including a Pasteurella-related bacterium that had previously been linked to the deaths of African elephants. Notably, we reconstructed partial genomes of Erysipelothrix from the oldest mammoth sample, representing the oldest authenticated host-associated microbial DNA to date. This work demonstrates the potential of obtaining ancient animal microbiomes, which can inform further paleoecological and evolutionary research.", "doi": "10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.003", "pmid": "40902595", "labels": {"DDLS Fellow": "", "Tom van der Valk": ""}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pii", "key": "S0092-8674(25)00917-1"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T12:31:14.259Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T12:31:14.278Z"}