#MetagenomicsMonday
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By integrating #phylogenetic information with #radiocarbon dates, a new modelling approach narrows the dating intervals of #Yersinia #pestis #genomes, linking 75 Second #Pandemic genomes to historically documented outbreaks.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #Plague
November 3, 2026 at 3:38 PM
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Agriculture and sedentism reshaped the entire #ecosystem of Crawford Lake. 🌿🧬
#sedaDNA reveals corresponding shifts in plants, animals, algae, fungi, and bacteria over the last ~1,300 years.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #Paleoecology #AncientDNA
October 26, 2026 at 8:01 AM
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Shotgun data from #dental #calculus 🦷🧬of 67 #ancient individuals reveal differences in oral #microbial communities across sites and social contexts, highlighting how lifestyle can shape the oral microbiome.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #AncientDNA
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.70357
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 19, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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Twenty-one #ancient sheeppox #virus #genomes 🦠🧬show that #SPPV was circulating in sheep 🐑 more than 3,700 years ago and shed new light on its genomic #evolution and host #adaptation.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #AncientPathogens #AncientDNA
Three thousand five hundred years of sheeppox virus evolution inferred from archaeological and codicological genomes
Sheeppox virus (SPPV) is a major livestock pathogen causing economic hardship through reduced production and death of vulnerable sheep, with written descriptions of sheeppox-like disease recorded…
www.science.org
October 12, 2026 at 7:02 AM
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Ancient DNA from 16th-century #Medici remains reveals traces of #Plasmodium #falciparum and P. #malariae 🦟🧬, including a previously uncharacterized P. falciparum haplotype.
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #AncientPathogens #AncientParasites #Parasites #Malaria
October 5, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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#sedaDNA reveals major shifts in marine food webs over 124,000 years. 🌊🧬 Robust, bottom-up #glacial #ecosystems dominated by #sea-ice adapted producers gave way to more fragile, consumer-driven food webs during warmer, ice-free periods.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM
Past subarctic marine food web shifts recovered by sedaDNA and network analysis - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Past subarctic marine food web shifts recovered by sedaDNA and network analysis
www.nature.com
September 28, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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A #methods paper for #MetagenomicsMonday! 🦠🧬💻

This new primer and #protocol provides practical guidance for assembling and validating #ancient #microbial #genomes. It introduces dedicated #aDNA support in #nf-core/mag.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...

#SPAAM #Metagenomics #Bioinformatics
De novo assembly and authentication of ancient DNA metagenomes with nf-core/mag
Author summary Advancements in genomic sequencing analyses are increasingly allowing researchers to reconstruct the genomes of microbial ‘dark matter’—those microbial species that are difficult to…
journals.plos.org
September 21, 2026 at 11:08 AM
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When #skeletal #lesions tell an ambiguous story, can ancient DNA help? 🦴🧬
This study combines #palaeopathology, #CT imaging and #aDNA to investigate multiple lytic lesions in a 10th-century individual from Latvia.
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #AncientPathogens
Multidisciplinary Exploration of Computed‐Tomographic and Ancient‐<fc>DNA</fc> Data of an Iron Age Skull From Latvia With Multiple Lytic Bone Lesions: Differential Diagnosis Between Metastatic Carcinoma, Multiple Myeloma and Skeletal Tuberculosis
In this study we used a combined computed tomographic and archaeogenetic approach to analyse a skull and vertebra with lytic lesions from a disturbed grave in the Čunkāni-Dreņģeri cemetery in…
doi.org
September 14, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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Ancient #genomes 🧬🦠 reveal possible gene flow between #Funnelbeaker farmers and Pitted Ware foragers, and distinct #Yersinia #pestis strains across cultural groups.
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #AncientPathogens #Paleogenomics
Ancestry, admixture, and pathogens in contemporaneous Neolithic farmers and foragers on the Island of Gotland - Communications Biology
Neolithic farmers and foragers in Gotland coexisted for 500 years, ancient DNA suggests limited intermixing, shared ancestry with mainland groups, isolation, and evidence of distinct Yersinia pestis…
www.nature.com
September 7, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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🌊🧬 By reconstructing #ancient #phytoplankton communities from Yellow Sea #sediments, this new study shows how ocean circulation reshaped coastal ecosystems over the last ~3,000 years in response to climate change.
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #sedaDNA #MarineEcology
Warm current intensification altered phytoplankton communities in the Yellow Sea: insights from sedimentary ancient DNA metabarcoding
Abstract. Long-term changes in phytoplankton communities are key to understanding and predicting ecosystem responses to climate-driven circulation change.
academic.oup.com
August 31, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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#Metagenomic analyses of a ritual #corn #mummy 🌾🧬 from the 3rd century BC uncovered #DNA from plants, microbes, insects, animals, and humans, demonstrating how these unique artefacts can preserve complex biological records of the past.
rdcu.be/fBLM0
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA
August 24, 2026 at 3:40 PM
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Can cave walls preserve #ancient human DNA? 🎨🧬
This proof-of-concept study recovered ancient human #DNA from rock #art and #cave wall samples, demonstrating that cave surfaces can preserve genetic traces for thousands of years!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #RockArt
Investigating ancient human DNA preservation on cave walls and in rock art - Nature Communications
Ancient DNA can be preserved on materials from archaeological floor deposits such as bones, sediments and artifacts. Here, the authors investigate whether Palaeolithic wall art can preserve human DNA…
www.nature.com
August 17, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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The first #ancient #smallpox genomes from the Americas! 🦠🧬#Genomes from two #Inca-Colonial individuals in Chile reveal an extinct #Variola lineage, providing direct evidence of smallpox during the early colonial period.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #AncientDNA #aDNA
The genomic identity of early smallpox in South America
Smallpox was a major driver of population collapse in the Americas after European contact, yet the genetic identity of the causal strains remains unknown. Here, we report the first ancient smallpox…
www.science.org
August 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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Can #ancient ground #squirrel poop reconstruct Ice Age ecosystems? 🐿️💩🧬
A recent study shows that #permafrost-preserved #coprolites can preserve #DNA for up to 700,000 years!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #paleogenomics
Ground squirrel coprolites preserve complex archives of ancient environmental DNA over 700,000 years - Nature Communications
Ancient faeces are powerful archives of ancient environmental DNA with the potential to illuminate both ecosystem history and evolution. This study shows that arctic ground squirrel droppings from…
www.nature.com
August 3, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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Did #prehistoric Europeans eat #insects?! 🦗🧬 #Metagenomic analyses of 745 #dental #calculus samples, together with human genetic data, suggest that #entomophagy was likely infrequent and mostly incidental.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #AncientDiet #ancientDNA
Genomic evidence for limited entomophagy in ancient Europeans
Ancient DNA traces in teeth and genes reveal that insects played a minor role in prehistoric European diets.
www.science.org
July 27, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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🦷🧬 Using de novo assembly, researchers reconstructed #ancient and modern oral #genomes, discovering a previously unknown species and tracing the #evolution of key periodontal bacteria across millenia!
doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #microbiome #aDNA #metagenomics #ancientDNA
Ancient Species Diversity and Niche Adaptation in Tannerella and Porphyromonas Revealed Through Pangenomics
Abstract. De novo assembly of ancient and modern bacterial metagenomes can shed light on evolution and ecology of bacterial species that are challenging to
doi.org
July 20, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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🦠🧬 Researchers detected #Yersinia #pestis in 39% of individuals across four #hunter-gatherer cemeteries in Siberia, revealing lethal outbreaks nearly 5,500 years ago - well before the emergence of flea-borne plague.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #plague #epidemics
Lethal plague outbreaks in Lake Baikal hunter-gatherers 5,500 years ago
Analyses of ancient DNA from hunter-gatherers near Lake Baikal in southeast Siberia around 5,500 years ago indicate that highly virulent Yersinia pestis emerged earlier than previously estimated, far from...
www.nature.com
July 13, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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🐚🧬 Ancient DNA from black abalone #shells spanning 1,500 years reveals remarkably limited genomic erosion, despite a ~99% population decline, and signs of recent #adaptation to #disease.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #ConservationGenomics #Paleogenetics #extinction
Ancient DNA from shells reveals delayed genomic erosion and rapid immune adaptation in the critically endangered black abalone | PNAS
Predicting the genetic consequences of population decline is a major problem in conservation genomics. Time lags following demographic bottlenecks ...
www.pnas.org
July 6, 2026 at 7:02 AM
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Ancient DNA isn't just for reconstructing past #ecosystems. 🧬🌳 This interdisciplinary study uses #aDNA and #hydrology to trace the legacy of deep tree rooting in #glacial #sediments and its impact on #groundwater vulnerability today.
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #sedaDNA
June 29, 2026 at 2:05 PM
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🦣🧬 A new study recovers #aDNA from Upper #Paleolithic mammoth ivory at Hohle Fels, revealing multiple #mammoth lineages and offering new insights into #hunter-gatherer raw material selection and symbolic practices.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #paleogenomics #ZooArch
Ancient DNA from the Upper Paleolithic mammoth ivory of Hohle Fels, Germany - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Ancient DNA from the Upper Paleolithic mammoth ivory of Hohle Fels, Germany
doi.org
June 22, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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🐦🧬 #Ancient environmental DNA from lake #sediments across Eurasia and Alaska reveals a shift from ptarmigan-dominated glacial landscapes to diverse Holocene bird communities shaped by expanding forests and shrubs.
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #sedaDNA #IceAge #ZooArch
doi.org
June 15, 2026 at 7:02 AM
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Animal bones hold clues to past #zoonotic diseases. 🐾🧬 Across 6,000 years of Eurasian #zooarchaeological material, researchers detected 29 opportunistic #pathogens, highlighting the value of lesion-guided sampling.
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #ancientDNA #infection
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Probing the zooarchaeological record across time and space for ancient pathogen DNA - Nature Communications
Authors investigate ancient DNA from animal remains and identify multiple signatures of ancient zoonotic pathogens. They find ancient pathogen genomics from archaeological animal remains may inform…
www.nature.com
June 1, 2026 at 7:01 AM
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Genomes record the cost of #overexploitation. 🐾🧬 Chinese #pangolins show severe genetic erosion after decades of decline, with some populations now at critical #extinction risk.
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #conservation #ancientDNA #museumgenomics #chonesepangolin
Pangolin museum genomics reveal the dynamic genetic consequences and extinction risk of the critically endangered Chinese pangolin
Abstract. Human-driven biodiversity loss, intensified by illegal hunting and trafficking, has caused severe wildlife population declines and extinctions, n
doi.org
May 25, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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Ancient DNA reveals a wandering #bear. 🐻🧬 A 9,600-year-old genome from Swedish lake #sediments shows a southern brown bear migrating north during #post-glacial recolonization.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #sedaDNA #biodiversity
Ancient environmental genome reveals a migratory brown bear individual in Early Holocene Scandinavia | PNAS
After the last ice age, species migrated into a newly deglaciated Scandinavia. Brown bear recolonization is thought to have occurred from two direc...
www.pnas.org
May 18, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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This #MetagenomicsMonday, we’re highlighting two #aDNA studies published in Nature on our beloved human best friend — the #dog! 🐕🧬Together, they reveal early widespread populations and complex ancestry shifts across #Eurasia.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#SPAAM
Genomic history of early dogs in Europe - Nature
Genome-wide analysis shows European dogs existed by 14,200 years ago, were already genetically distinct, received less Neolithic Southwest Asian admixture than humans did and contributed…
www.nature.com
April 27, 2026 at 7:01 AM