Yukon Squirrel Droppings Yield 700,000-Year-Old DNA, Including Oldest Fecal Mitogenome
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Jun 11
Yukon Squirrel Droppings Yield 700,000-Year-Old DNA, Including Oldest Fecal Mitogenome
3 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Jun 11
Summary
700,000-year-old ground-squirrel droppings from Yukon permafrost produced enough ancient DNA to assemble more than 18 mitochondrial genomes, including mammoth, steppe bison, horse, hare and squirrel.
The oldest sample also contained the oldest mitogenome ever recovered from feces, with researchers saying the coprolites preserve one of the oldest DNA records yet sequenced.
Weaker genetic traces pointed to lemmings, caribou, gray wolves and a big cat—possibly a cougar or extinct American cheetah—alongside fungi, bacteria and more than 200 plant groups.
Researchers said Arctic ground squirrels likely mixed DNA into burrows by storing bones, seeds and plant material, making the pellets a broad archive of ancient Beringian ecosystems rather than a simple diet record.
The Nature Communications study suggests overlooked remains such as coprolites can help reconstruct deep-time environments, megafaunal dispersal and extinction across Ice Age Beringia.