This article talks about how RNA was extracted from a juvenile wooly mammoth found frozen in Siberian permafrost. It was dated by radiocarbon putting the woolly mammoth at 40,000 years old. This is the oldest RNA ever recovered. RNA is more fragile than DNA so finding these challenges assumptions on how long RNA can survive. Unlike DNA, RNA gives a glimpse of gene activity.
In this woolly mammoth RNA, they identified messenger RNAS that code for proteins including many involved in muscle contraction and energy. They also found non-coding RNAS like microRNAS which regulate gene activity. Some of the microRNAS carried mutations that are unique to mammoths and elephants.
Other information they gathered from this find was that the gene expression patterns suggested the wooly mammoth's muscles were under cellular stress in its final moments. The RNA and confirming DNA also determined that the mammoth was a male, he had a Y chromosome.
The implication to this finding was that this shows RNA can survive much longer than previously thought under the right preservation conditions. This helps open the door for studies on gene expression in extinct species not just their DNA. And research like this can help search for ancient RNA viruses like Ice Age influence persevered in long frozen remains.
Sources:
Basilio, H. (2025, November 14). Woolly Mammoth Unlocks Reveals the world’s oldest RNA. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/woolly-mammoth-unlocks-reveals-the-worlds-oldest-rna/
MSN. (n.d.). https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-extract-the-oldest-rna-ever-found-revealing-how-a-woolly-mammoth-s-genes-may-have-functioned-40000-years-ago/ar-AA1QFH8g?ocid=BingNewsSerp
No comments:
Post a Comment