Woolly Mammoth Skin "Freeze-Dried" For 52,000 Years Delivers First-Ever 3D Chromosomes

IFL Science ^ | JULY 11, 2024 | RACHAEL FUNNELL

[Red Badger]

A scientific magic trick that pulled a lot more than a coin from behind the mammoth's ear.

A preserved mammoth foot in a permafrost environment.

Image credit: Love Dalen

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Freeze-dried skin samples of a woolly mammoth found in Siberia have enabled scientists to create a 3D reconstruction of 52,000-year-old chromosomes. The achievement is a world-first for ancient DNA, and reveals which genes were active in the skin cells when the mammoth was alive.

Shortly after the woolly mammoth died it spontaneously freeze-dried thanks to the weather, preserving its nuclear architecture in a dehydrated state that made it possible to survive for millennia. Fast forward to 2018, and the mammoth’s remains were discovered by humans in northeastern Siberia.

Armed with the uniquely well preserved remains, a team of scientists extracted DNA from a skin sample taken behind the mammoth’s ear. This was then analyzed using a method known as Hi-C that can identify sections of DNA that were likely interacting with each other when the animal was alive.

“Imagine you have a puzzle that has three billion pieces, but you don't have the picture of the final puzzle to work from,” said corresponding author Marc A Marti-Renom, an ICREA research professor and structural genomicist at the Centre Nacional d’Anàlisi Genòmica (CNAG) and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), in a statement. “Hi-C allows you to have an approximation of that picture before you start putting the puzzle pieces together.”

Aided by the genomes of present-day elephants, they were able to use Hi-C to piece together a 3D recreation of the mammoth’s genome for the first time ever. It revealed they had 28 chromosomes, which is the same as Asian and African elephants, and preserved details as minute as the nanoscale loops connecting transcription factors and genes.

“For the first time, we have a woolly mammoth tissue for which we know roughly which genes were switched on and which genes were off,” explained Marti-Renom. “This is an extraordinary new type of data, and it’s the first measure of cell-specific gene activity of the genes in any ancient DNA sample.”

The mammoth’s meaty genetic material is being described as a new type of fossil that dwarfs previous ancient DNA discoveries, marking the first time a karyotype has been determined for an ancient remains.

As for what we might be able to do with all that genetic data, it’s possible this could be a step in the right direction for the scientists trying to de-extinct the mammoth over at Colossal Biosciences by integrating their active genes into the genome of a modern elephant.

"It's exciting to see that 3D architecture can be preserved in ancient samples,” Colossal’s Head of Biological Sciences and Mammoth Lead Eriona Hysolli – who wasn’t involved in the study – told IFLScience. “This will help move toward a complete de novo assembled mammoth genome, which could reveal features of the genome that might be relevant to mammoth de-extinction.”

The study is published in the journal Cell.

[Red Badger]

Mammoth Ping!.........................

[Flag_This]

“Dinosaurs Mammoths had their shot and nature selected them for extinction.”

[Bob434]

woolly mammoth steaks here we come!

[Reily]

But it wasn’t fair .... the climate changed!

[dfwgator]

Hatty told Matty
Let’s don’t take no chance
Let’s not be L-seven
Come and learn to dance

[Track9]

They can look for matches on Ancestry.com.

[PeterPrinciple]

https://colossal.com/mammoth

Colossal’s landmark de-extinction project will be the resurrection of the Woolly Mammoth - or more specifically a cold-resistant elephant with all of the core biological traits of the Woolly Mammoth. It will walk like a Woolly Mammoth, look like one, sound like one, but most importantly it will be able to inhabit the same ecosystem previously abandoned by the Mammoth’s extinction.

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Looks like we are not all worried about global warming.

[PIF]

Shortly after the woolly mammoth died it spontaneously freeze-dried thanks to the weather ...

—
Exactly how far below zero and for how long would it have to be to freeze dry a hunk of meat weighing many tons?

[PeterPrinciple]

AND THIS CORE VALUE CANNOT BE OVERSTATED:

THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH IS A VITAL DEFENDER OF THE EARTH.

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from the site

[Red Badger]

[know.your.why]

The thought of a naturally occurring freeze drying process is shocking to say the least. This beast had to have been covered by a glacial avalanche or something. If it was a sudden extreme drop in temperature similar to freeze drying...if it happened once it can happen again. Probably will.

[PeterPrinciple]

On reflection:

Is this worthy research? should it receive a Golden Fleece award?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Fleece_Award

https://colossal.com/company/
GOAL
Colossal will revolutionize history and be the first company to use CRISPR technology successfully in the de-extinction of previously lost species. On the journey we will build radical new software tools and technologies to advance the science of genomics overall.

(it is a very measurable goal, there can be benifits along the way. A man on the moon within a decade worked. cleare visual, measurable.)

“I’ve followed the ground-breaking work of George Church for years. I have also invested in and coached Ben Lamm when he founded Hypergiant. These two are a powerhouse team who have the ability to completely shift our understanding of modern genetics while developing innovative technologies that not only help bring back lost species, but advance the entire industry. I am proud to be an investor in their journey.”
Tony Robbins
World Famous Life-Coach, Author,
Investor and Entrepreneur

(Tony has invested)

https://marketrealist.com/p/how-to-invest-in-colossal-mammoths/

Big-time investors are betting on Colossal.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger.

[bigbob]

Clone it up!

[wintertime]

I hope I live long enough to see a living mammoth.

[Monkey Face]

Very cool stuff, SC!

Fangs!!

‘Face

;o]

[roving]

As in the days of Noah.

[null and void]

his beast had to have been covered by a glacial avalanche or something. If it was a sudden extreme drop in temperature similar to freeze drying...if it happened once it can happen again.

• Earth Loses Magnetism

  1/1/2004, 12:09:35 PM · 55 of 87
  null and void to Yosemitest

  How did a woolly mammoth freeze with tropical flowers in his mouth and stomach?

  The mammoths liked to feed in the periglacial areas. By being right up against the glaciers the were shielded fro the north winds, and the face of the glacier reflected sunlight back into the ground. The area near the glacier was much warmer than the surrounding tundra. It was well watered with melt water, and the soil was rich in minerals from the glacial till, and as loose as a well tended garden. Plants that are now exclusively tropical were better adapted to cold and variable day length.

  Soooo, a mammoth feeds in the richest local environment, right up next to the glacier, and suddenly there's an avalanche instantly pounding the mammoth into the dirt and packing it in ice...

  Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies

[DouglasKC]

Shortly after the woolly mammoth died it spontaneously freeze-dried thanks to the weather ...

—
Exactly how far below zero and for how long would it have to be to freeze dry a hunk of meat weighing many tons?

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It got real cold real fast.