Scientists at the Centre for Palaeogenetics at Stockholm University have successfully sequenced the genome of a 14,400-year-old woolly rhinoceros from an unusual and challenging source—a fragment of tissue preserved in the stomach of an ancient wolf. The work, published in Genome Biology and Evolution, demonstrates that valuable genetic information can be recovered even from degraded or unconventional materials. This achievement also sheds light on how the species remained genetically stable up until its extinction at the end of the last Ice Age.
“Sequencing the entire genome of an Ice Age animal found in the stomach of another animal has never been done before,” said Camilo Chacón-Duque, the study’s senior author. “Recovering genomes from individuals that lived right before extinction is challenging, but it can provide important clues on what caused the species to disappear, which may also be relevant for the conservation of endangered species today.”
The preserved sample came from the frozen remains of an Ice Age wolf discovered near the village of Tumat in northeastern Siberia. During its autopsy, researchers found a small piece of tissue in the wolf’s stomach. Radiocarbon dating indicated the specimen to be about 14,400 years old, and genetic sequencing confirmed it came from a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), one of the youngest known representatives of its species. Extracting clean genomic data from the sample presented major obstacles due to DNA degradation and contamination with the predator’s own genetic material. “It was really exciting, but also very challenging, to extract a complete genome from such an unusual sample,” said lead author Sólveig Guðjónsdóttir.
To understand the species’ decline, the team compared this genome with two others from older woolly rhinoceroses dated to 18,000 and 49,000 years ago. The results showed no increase in inbreeding or accumulation of harmful mutations over tens of thousands of years. “Our analyses showed a surprisingly stable genetic pattern with no change in inbreeding levels through tens of thousands of years prior to the extinction of woolly rhinos,” said co-author Edana Lord. According to co-author Love Dalén, the findings suggest that rather than genetic deterioration or overhunting, rapid climate warming most likely led to the species’ sudden disappearance.
Publication details: Sólveig M Guðjónsdóttir, Edana Lord, Zoé Pochon, Špela Lemež, Nicolas Dussex, David W G Stanton, Mikkel-Holger S Sinding, Sergey Fedorov, Love Dalén, J Camilo Chacón-Duque, Genome Shows no Recent Inbreeding in Near-Extinction Woolly Rhinoceros Sample Found in Ancient Wolf's Stomach, Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2026, evaf239, https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf239
“Sequencing the entire genome of an Ice Age animal found in the stomach of another animal has never been done before,” said Camilo Chacón-Duque, the study’s senior author. “Recovering genomes from individuals that lived right before extinction is challenging, but it can provide important clues on what caused the species to disappear, which may also be relevant for the conservation of endangered species today.”
The preserved sample came from the frozen remains of an Ice Age wolf discovered near the village of Tumat in northeastern Siberia. During its autopsy, researchers found a small piece of tissue in the wolf’s stomach. Radiocarbon dating indicated the specimen to be about 14,400 years old, and genetic sequencing confirmed it came from a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), one of the youngest known representatives of its species. Extracting clean genomic data from the sample presented major obstacles due to DNA degradation and contamination with the predator’s own genetic material. “It was really exciting, but also very challenging, to extract a complete genome from such an unusual sample,” said lead author Sólveig Guðjónsdóttir.
To understand the species’ decline, the team compared this genome with two others from older woolly rhinoceroses dated to 18,000 and 49,000 years ago. The results showed no increase in inbreeding or accumulation of harmful mutations over tens of thousands of years. “Our analyses showed a surprisingly stable genetic pattern with no change in inbreeding levels through tens of thousands of years prior to the extinction of woolly rhinos,” said co-author Edana Lord. According to co-author Love Dalén, the findings suggest that rather than genetic deterioration or overhunting, rapid climate warming most likely led to the species’ sudden disappearance.
Publication details: Sólveig M Guðjónsdóttir, Edana Lord, Zoé Pochon, Špela Lemež, Nicolas Dussex, David W G Stanton, Mikkel-Holger S Sinding, Sergey Fedorov, Love Dalén, J Camilo Chacón-Duque, Genome Shows no Recent Inbreeding in Near-Extinction Woolly Rhinoceros Sample Found in Ancient Wolf's Stomach, Genome Biology and Evolution, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2026, evaf239, https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf239