Ancient host-associated microbes obtained from mammoth remains

Dataset type

This dataset that contains primary occurrence data for species.

Description

This dataset comprises metagenomic microbial DNA data derived from mammoth (Elephantidae: Mammuthus) remains spanning over one million years. It includes newly sequenced and unpublished samples, contaminant filtering, damage‐pattern analyses, and reconstructed partial genomes of host-associated microbial clades (e.g., Actinobacillus, Pasteurella, Streptococcus, Erysipelothrix). The data support paleo-microbiological analyses of ancient animal-microbe interactions.

Geographic Description

The dataset covers mammoth remains recovered from a broad geographic range (including Siberia, Russia; Yakutia; Yukon, Canada; Europe) spanning multiple localities. Specific sample coordinates and provenance details are provided in the associated supplementary material of the paper (TableS1)

Data quality

The study applied metagenomic screening, contaminant filtering protocols, damage pattern analysis to authenticate ancient DNA signals, and phylogenetic inference to determine host-association of microbial taxa.

Methods

Step 1: Collection of mammoth remains and contextual metadata (age, location, tissue type)

 Step 2: Ancient DNA extraction and library preparation in clean-lab facilities

 Step 3: High-throughput sequencing of metagenomic libraries

 Step 4: Bioinformatic screening: mapping, contaminant filtering, damage pattern analysis

 Step 5: Taxonomic assignment of microbial reads/contigs, genome reconstruction of key clades

 Step 6: Phylogenetic and functional analyses of reconstructed microbial genomes

 Step 7: Metadata integration and dataset assembly for publication and deposition

Type of content

Includes: Point occurrence data.

Citation

Guinet B, Oskolkov N, Moreland K, Dehasque M, Chacón-Duque J C, Angerbjörn A, Arsuaga J L, Danilov G, Kanellidou F, Kitchener A C, Muller H, Plotnikov V, Protopopov A, Tikhonov A, Termes L, Zazula G, Mortensen P, Grigorieva L, Richards M, Shapiro B, Lister A M, Vartanyan S, Díez-Del-Molino D, Götherström A, Pečnerová P, Nikolskiy P, Dalén L, van der Valk T (2025). Ancient host-associated microbes obtained from mammoth remains. Dataset (metagenomic microbial DNA from mammoth remains). Centre for Palaeogenetics.

Rights

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

Digitised records

Metadata last updated on 2026-01-28 08:43:46.0