Ancient RNA expression profiles from the extinct woolly mammoth
Ancient DNA has revolutionized the study of extinct and extant organisms that lived up to 2 million years ago, enabling the reconstruction of genomes from multiple extinct species, as well as the ecosystems where they once thrived. However, current DNA sequencing techniques alone cannot directly provide insights into tissue identity, gene expression dynamics, or transcriptional regulation, as these are encoded in the RNA fraction. Here, we report transcriptional profiles from 10 Late Pleistocene woolly mammoths. One of these, dated to be ∼39,000 years old, yielded sufficient detail to recover tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms and biological functions essential for skeletal muscle metabolism, representing the oldest ancient RNA sequences recorded to date. We showcase the potential to study ancient RNA molecules beyond preconceived limitations, providing an analytical framework for validating and decoding preserved transcriptomes through time. With our findings, we anticipate the emergence of integrative paleo-studies combining genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics.
Authors
- Inna Biryukova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0701-2808)
- А. В. Протопопов (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6543-4596)
- Björn Andersson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4624-0259)
- Panagiotis Kalogeropoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6717-5011)
- Marc R. Friedländer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6577-4363)
- Katherine A. Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8400-6922)
- Marianne Dehasque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4640-8306)
- Elif Bozlak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7909-1555)
- Tom van der Valk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6582-3452)
- Morteza Aslanzadeh
- Kevin J. Peterson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6780-0964)
- В. В. Плотников (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4870-3499)
- Juan Camilo Chacón-Duque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0715-1947)
- Bastian Fromm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0352-3037)
- Erik Ersmark (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4186-7498)
- Emilio Mármol‐Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4393-1740)
- Zoé Pochon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7981-5795)
- Peter D. Heintzman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6449-0219)
- Nikolay Oskolkov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5326-8893)
- Love Dalén (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6307-8188)
- Cecilia Furugård
Institutions
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- Lund University (SE)
- Science for Life Laboratory (SE)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (NO)
- Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (RU)
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell
- Published
- 2025-11-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.025
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- RNA modifications and cancer
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.84
Funders
- Villum Fonden
- Tromsø Forskningsstiftelse
- European Commission
- Austrian Science Fund
- Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse
- Vetenskapsrådet
- Stockholms Universitet
- Science for Life Laboratory
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science
- H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions