BOLZANO, ITALY, June 23 (DC Times Online) — A peer-reviewed study published in Microbiome has identified four cold-adapted yeast species on Ötzi the Iceman’s 5,300-year-old remains, with traces found in skin samples, meltwater inside the mummy and stomach contents, according to Eurac Research scientists.
The researchers said they reconstructed the yeasts’ genetics and concluded that the mummy’s remains may function as a “dynamic biological interface,” where ancient glacier-derived microbes and modern contaminants coexist under museum conditions. The paper also reported degraded and modern DNA fragments, but the authors said contamination introduced during discovery or preservation could not be ruled out.
In laboratory work, the team grew multiple microbe species and produced four viable ones. Three were reportedly able to use phenol, a compound used to prevent fungal growth, as a food source.
The study does not show that all of the microbes have survived unchanged for millennia, but it adds to evidence that Ötzi’s preserved body may still contain a mix of ancient biological material and newer environmental contaminants.
Ötzi was discovered in the Alps in 1991, and radiocarbon dating places him around 3300 BC, according to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. The museum houses the remains in a sub-zero vault in Bolzano, Italy, designed to mimic glacial conditions.
