Researchers analyzed ancient microbial DNA from 483 mammoth specimens, including 440 newly sequenced samples dating back up to 1.1 million years, and identified six microbial clades likely associated with living mammoths – spanning Actinobacillus, Pasteurella, Streptococcus, and Erysipelothrix. They reconstructed partial genomes of Erysipelothrix from the oldest specimen – representing the oldest authenticated host-associated microbial DNA known to date – and also found putative virulence factors in some lineages, including a Pasteurella relative linked to disease in modern elephants.

ARTICLE

Guinet, Benjamin, et al. "Ancient Host-Associated Microbes Obtained from Mammoth Remains." Cell (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.003.