Researchers recovered partial genomes of Erysipelothrix bacteria from a steppe mammoth estimated to be about 1.1 million years old—the oldest authenticated host-associated microbial DNA reported to date. The finding shows that ancient remains can preserve clues to microbes associated with an animal, but it does not show that this mammoth had a mouth infection, was ill, or died because of bacteria.
What scientists found in the mammoth remains
A study by Benjamin Guinet and colleagues, published in Cell, examined microbial DNA in 483 mammoth remains spanning more than one million years. The team newly sequenced 440 samples and identified 310 microbes across the material. Most detected microbes were environmental or organisms that colonized remains after death—not necessarily microbes that had lived in the mammoths.
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The key result was a smaller group of six microbial clades with genomic evidence consistent with association with their mammoth hosts. These clades included members of Actinobacillus, Pasteurella, Streptococcus, and Erysipelothrix. In the oldest sample, a steppe mammoth dated to approximately 1.1 million years ago, the researchers reconstructed partial Erysipelothrix genomes. The authors describe these as the oldest authenticated host-associated microbial DNA recovered to date. Read the study record and abstract.
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Was the bacteria found in the mammoth’s mouth?
The headline’s “mouth” framing points to the mammoth tooth imagined in the study’s institutional announcement, but the finding is broader: it concerns microbial DNA recovered from mammoth remains and evidence for host-associated lineages. The available study summary does not establish that the identified Erysipelothrix came specifically from the mouth, nor does it describe a diagnosis of dental disease.
Ancient DNA evidence can indicate that a microbial lineage was associated with an animal, but it does not by itself reveal exactly where the microbes lived in the body or what effect they had. The Stockholm University announcement, reproduced by Phys.org, describes the research and its limits: read the announcement.
How researchers distinguished host-associated microbes
Finding microbial DNA in an ancient bone or tooth is not enough to prove that the animal carried those microbes while alive. Soil microbes and other organisms can enter remains after death, and ancient DNA is often fragmented and chemically damaged. The researchers used metagenomic screening, contaminant filtering, DNA damage patterns, and evolutionary comparisons to assess which signals were most consistent with host association.
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That approach supports the authors’ identification of six host-associated clades, while leaving most of the 310 detected microbes in the environmental or post-mortem category. “Host-associated” is evidence about a relationship, not proof that every lineage was a permanent resident or caused disease.
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No. The study does not establish that the 1.1-million-year-old mammoth was sick, had a toothache, or died from infection. The authors note putative virulence factors in some microbial clades, and they identify a Pasteurella-related bacterium connected to a pathogen previously associated with African elephant deaths. Those observations suggest questions for further study; they do not establish illness in an individual mammoth.
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The effect of the microbes on mammoth health is difficult to determine from degraded DNA and limited comparative data. A possible pathogen relationship cannot reveal whether an animal was infected, how severe any infection was, or whether it contributed to death.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why ancient mammoth microbes matter
Microbial lineages associated with mammoths may help researchers investigate how hosts and microbes changed together across long periods and broad regions. Ancient animal microbiomes could also add evidence about past ecosystems and host-microbe relationships that cannot be recovered from the host genome alone.
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This is a new avenue for studying extinct animals, not proof that a particular bacterium drove mammoth adaptation, population decline, or extinction. The paper appeared online September 2, 2025, and in Cell, volume 188, issue 23, on November 13, 2025; its DOI is 10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.003.
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