Nearly two million years.. The oldest DNA reveals the surprises of the lost world of Greenland
Mastodon, a relative of elephants, roamed North and Central America until its extinction along with many other large mammals in the Pleistocene nearly ten thousand years ago.
Scientists have discovered the oldest DNA dating back nearly two million years from sediments at the northernmost point of Greenland in the Arctic Ocean, revealing a fascinating lost world in this faraway place.
Scientists have discovered DNA from animals, plants and microbes dating back nearly two million years, the oldest DNA ever recorded, in sediments at the northernmost point of Greenland that were mined around the mouth of a fjord in the Arctic Ocean, revealing a fascinating lost world in this faraway place.
On Wednesday (December 7), researchers announced the discovery of DNA fragments from a group of animals including mastodons, reindeer, hares, lemmings and geese, as well as plants including poplar and birch trees, thujas and microorganisms including bacteria and fungi. DNA is a self-replicating material that carries genetic information in living organisms.
Mastodon was a close relative of elephants, roaming North and Central America until its extinction along with many other large mammals of the Pleistocene nearly ten thousand years ago. The discovery shows that it lived in a much wider range than previously thought.
"The mastodon was a big surprise. It had never been found in Greenland before," said Eski Fleslev, director of the Landbeck Foundation Geogenetics Center and head of the study published in the journal Nature. In the modern era".
Diversified two million years ago
The discovery of two million-year-old DNA, which is the oldest ever
"I don't think anyone would have expected Greenland to maintain this diversity of flora and fauna two million years ago at a time when the climate was very similar to what we expect to see in a few years' time because of global warming," added Fleslev, who works at the universities of Cambridge and Copenhagen.
And although ancient DNA is highly perishable, the study showed that under the right conditions, in this case permafrost, it could survive much longer than previously thought. Now, Fleslev said, he wouldn't be surprised if DNA dating back at least four million years was found.
Umang colony in Greenland, Arctic Ocean
The researchers extracted DNA from 41 samples of organic-rich sediment from five sites on the Berryland Peninsula, and identified more than 100 species of animals and plants.
The samples were first extracted in 2006, but previous efforts to detect the DNA have been unsuccessful. The methods used to extract it have evolved since then, eventually allowing for this massive discovery.
Fleslev said the fragmented DNA could not be used to revive extinct species , as in the "Jurassic Park" books and movies, but could reveal secrets about ways plants could become more resilient to global warming.
Source: websites