Scientists from Uppsala University managed to obtain the genome of a woolly rhinoceros. It was isolated from DNA found in the stomach of an ancient wolf. The study was published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.
The carcass of an unknown animal, frozen in ice on the shore of a lake, was discovered in 2011 by residents of the village of Tumat in Yakutia. Research shows that it belongs to an extinct genus of fossil wolves. Woolly rhinoceros tissue was found in its stomach.
Radiocarbon dating of the material revealed that the animal lived 400 years before the extinction of the entire species, 14,000 years ago.
The scientists also found that the tissue belonged to one of the youngest individuals ever found. This DNA was compared with two older samples, approximately 18,000 and 49,000 years old.
The analysis revealed similar levels of genetic diversity in all individuals. Based on this, the scientists concluded that the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros occurred rapidly, without signs of long-term genetic degeneration.