Overview

• Researchers analyzed microbial DNA from 483 mammoth specimens, sequencing 440 for the first time.
• A steppe mammoth dated to about 1.1 million years yielded partial Erysipelothrix genomes, the oldest host-associated microbial DNA yet recovered.
• Six recurring microbial clades were identified in mammoth-associated sequences, including relatives of Actinobacillus, Pasteurella, Streptococcus, and Erysipelothrix.
• One Pasteurella-related lineage closely matches a bacterium implicated in fatal outbreaks in African elephants, raising questions about possible similar susceptibilities in mammoths.
• The authors caution that degraded DNA and limited reference datasets constrain conclusions about disease impacts, though some lineages appear to persist up to Wrangel Island about 4,000 years ago.