Don't forget to submit your abstract for #SPAAM8 ! 🚀
Come share your work and join us in Stockholm on June 22nd 🇸🇪
Online presentations are also possible! 👩🏻‍💻

www.spaam-community.org/events/news/...

Deadline: May 1st
#aDNA #Metagenomics #seDNA

Ancient DNA reveals 4000 years of grapevine diversity, viticulture and clonal propagation in France - Nature Communications Here, the authors present aDNA from 49 grape pips spanning the Bronze Age to Medieval period in France and surrounding areas. They find evidence of long-distance exchange of domestic varieties…

On this week's #MetagenomicsMonday: #aDNA study 🧬traces the roots of French #wine! 🍇 Roman trade, clonal propagation, and even a medieval grape identical to modern #PinotNoir emerge from 4,000 years of #viticulture.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#SPAAM #archaeobotany #domestication #agriculture

Patterns of aDNA Damage Through Time and Environments – lessons from herbarium specimens Abstract. Herbarium collections are a vast but underutilized resource for ancient DNA research, containing over 400 million specimens with detailed metadat

400 million #herbarium specimens, but how good is their #DNA? 🌿🧬 This study shows preservation depends on climate at collection and highlights their value for studying DNA decay over time.
doi.org/10.1093/giga...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #palaeobotany #museumscience #ancientDNA

Speed networking between PIs and young researchers - April 2026 edition Interest and registration form for PI speed networking for April 13th, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CEST The following PIs are open to meeting with interested junior researchers (prospective masters, PhDs, pos...

Don't miss our virtual speed-networking event between PIs and young researchers (MSc/PhD/Postdocs) focused on the Americas! 🌎

🗓️ When? Monday April 13th 6pm - 8pm CEST

Registration deadline: April 9th. Grab your slot!

For more information and registration, check: forms.gle/uajZrCyrAoVa...

DNA virus–host patterns in lake and marine environments over the last glacial cycle Abstract. Viruses are integral to population dynamics, biogeochemical cycling, and host evolution, making them essential for ecosystem function. We explore

What did #ancient #viral #ecosystems look like? 🦠🧬 Sedimentary #aDNA from lakes and oceans reveals 2,000+ viral taxa and shows how #virus–host interactions changed from the #Pleistocene to today.
doi.org/10.1093/isme...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #sedaDNA

Ancient biomolecules suggest a learned foraging strategy in extinct cave bears Studying the behavioral ecology of long-extinct species is challenging due to the difficulty in measuring the behavioral phenotype and correlating thi…

What did #cave #bears eat? 🐻 It seems that diet wasn’t shaped by #genetics, sex, or #environment. Instead, #ancient #DNA 🧬 + #isotopes suggest individuals learned their own #foraging strategies.
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA

Abstract submission for #SPAAM8 is now officially OPEN! 🚀

Don't miss the opportunity to share your work and join us in Stockholm on June 22nd 🇸🇪
Online presentations are also possible! 👩🏻‍💻

Submit your abstract: forms.gle/psw9GS3ZyrLV...

Deadline: May 1st
#aDNA #Metagenomics #seDNA

A 5500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome from Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia Treponematosis, a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies and T. carateum (yaws, bejel, syphilis, pinta), has afflicted humans for millennia. Despite paleopathological evidence…

Ancient #DNA 🧬 uncovers hidden diversity in #treponemal disease. A 5,500-year-old #genome from Colombia reveals a previously unknown T. pallidum lineage 🦠, reshaping our understanding of its early #evolution.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA

Ancient DNA from Palaeoloxodon naumanni in Japan reveals early evolution of Eurasian Palaeoloxodon Palaeoloxodon, the extinct genus of straight-tusked elephants, originated in Africa and dispersed across Eurasia. We analyzed ancient mitochondrial DN…

Straight-tusked #elephants once roamed across #Eurasia, but one lineage became stranded in Japan?! 🐘🧬 Ancient #mtDNA reveals Palaeoloxodon naumanni as an early-diverging lineage that survived in island isolation.
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #palaeogenetics #ancientDNA

Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA First ancient HHV-6 genomes reveal 2500 years of phylogenetic continuity and provide insights into the endogenization of HHV-6A.

It's #MetagenomicsMonday again! 🧬🧬🧬Ancient #HHV-6 #genomes revealed that modern HHV-6 diversity was already established centuries ago and that germline integrations stem from ancient founder events.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#SPAAM #aDNA #sixthdisease #roseola #pathogens #viruses #evolution

SPAAM@Element Due to changes in functionality and billing, the SPAAM Steering Committee decided to switch from Slack to Element as their main platform at the end of 2024. We acknowledge that to this date we haven't...

📢 We are collecting feedback on your experience with Element (our new platform after leaving Slack)

Please, let us know your opinion and what you think could be improved 👇🏻

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

SPAAM Blog Post Competition · SPAAM Community Standards, Precautions, and Advances in Ancient Metagenomics

📢 A gentle REMINDER from the #SPAAM Steering Committee! 🚨 The deadline for the #Blog Post #Competition is approaching (16 March) 📝. We are looking forward to receiving your submissions! :)
www.spaam-community.org/news/2025/11...
#ancientDNA #metagenomics #palaeogenomics #science #communication

Ancient DNA sheds light on the historical distribution of the rare and ephemeral plant Coleanthus subtilis in Southern Siberia - BMC Genomics Background Ancient DNA is a valuable source of information about the distant past of our planet. Reconstructing the past ecosystems is essential for understanding many aspects of life in the steppes…

Ancient DNA 🧬 from a 1,700-year-old Tashtyk funerary mannequin reveals lost plant biodiversity 🌾in southern Siberia, highlighting the conservation value of this UNESCO-listed region.
doi.org/10.1186/s128...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #conservation #ecology #biodiversity

Revisiting the dispersal history of walnut by analyzing the ancient DNA of walnut remains in Xinjiang, China Persian walnut is an important crop with a disputed history of domestication origins and dispersal. Xinjiang, a key hub in East-West exchanges, was se…

Ancient walnuts 🌰 tell a Silk Road story! Genome-wide data 🧬 from Tang Dynasty Xinjiang walnuts reveal a transitional genetic stage linking Central Asia and China in a new study published in Cell Reports.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #ancientDNA #silkroad #paleobotany

🚨 Save the Date!

We’re thrilled to announce #SPAAM8 – a gathering of experts in ancient metagenomics research! 🌎

📅 When: June 22nd 2026
📍Where: Stockholm, Sweden 🇸🇪 (and online)
Stay tuned for updates and registration details!

Recovering Mycobacterium tuberculosis 🦠 from ancient samples is notoriously difficult. But, in this new study, the elusive M. tuberculosis DNA was detected in five individuals from medieval Ireland.
doi.org/10.1016/j.tu...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #paleogenomics #tuberculosis #TB #pathogen

SPAAM Blog Post Competition · SPAAM Community Standards, Precautions, and Advances in Ancient Metagenomics

🚨 Dear SPAAM Community, we are extending the deadline for the Blog Post Competition 📝. The new date is March 16th 2026! We have received some exciting submissions. 📢 Keep it coming!
www.spaam-community.org/news/2025/11...
#aDNA #SPAAM #sciencecommunication #blog #ancientDNA #paleogenetics

Paleogenomics Reveals a Loss of Bovine Lineages in Mid-latitude Asia Over the Last 200,000 Years Abstract. Bovines have a complex yet poorly understood evolutionary history that is characterized by admixture and diversity loss during the Late Pleistoce

The Altai wasn’t just home to Denisovans. 🏔️🧬Ancient DNA revealed unexpected bovine diversity 🦬, including a mysterious yak-like lineage (yak "X") now seemingly lost to time.
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
#MetagenomicsMonday #ancientDNA #aDNA #paleogenomics #zooarchaeology #denisovacave #altai

The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica. Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful adaptation to anthropogenic environments.…

How and when did domestic cats conquer the world? 🐈 The aDNA study recently published in Science tells a fascinating story about the human-mediated dispersal of our purring furry friends.
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #paleogenomics #cats #zooarcheology #domestication

SPAAM Blog Post Competition · SPAAM Community Standards, Precautions, and Advances in Ancient Metagenomics

REMINDER 🚨🚨🚨 The SPAAM is thrilled to announce a blog post
competition!
You will get a chance of having your post on the SPAAM website
and win a mystery book prize!
For more info and how to submit visit:
www.spaam-community.org/news/2025/11...
#aDNA #writingcontest #sciencecommunication

Population structure and inter-species admixture within a likely extinct yet formerly widespread Hawaiian honeycreeper Abstract. The Hawaiian honeycreepers simultaneously represent one of the most spectacular avian adaptive radiations and are one of the most endangered avia

Check out this new paper on the inter-species admixture 🧬 within an extinct and yummy-sounding avian species 🦜 - the honeycreeper! 🍯
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #paleogenomics #museumscience #avian #honeycreeper

Many thanks to @aidanva.bsky.social, @benjaminguinet.bsky.social, Yuejiao Huang, Chenyu Jin, Dario Ramirez and @alexhbnr.bsky.social (🧵 4/4)

📈 More stats
🧬 2980 (+44) ancient host-associated metagenome libraries
🦠 3621 (+69) ancient microbial genome libraries
🌅 928 (+0) ancient environmental libraries
(🧵 3/4)

📈 Release v25.12.0:
📚 216 (+5) publications
🧬 1733 (+28) ancient host-associated metagenome samples
🦠 813 (+3) ancient microbial genomes
🌅 803 (+0) ancient environmental samples
(🧵 2/4)

🚨 New release of #AncientMetagenomeDir! (v25.12.0, Historic Centre of Sighişoara)
github.com/SPAAM-commun...
It is a community resource of #metadata of >2K shotgun-sequenced #AncientMetagenome or ancient microbial genome enriched samples & >5K libraries. Stats below (🧵 1/4)

CarpeDeam: a de novo metagenome assembler for heavily damaged ancient datasets - Genome Biology De novo assembly of ancient metagenomic datasets is a challenging task. Ultra-short fragment size and characteristic postmortem damage patterns of sequenced ancient DNA molecules leave current tools…

Dreaming of a de novo assembly of your pesky short ancient sequences? 🧬 A new tool, CarpeDeam, may just help your dreams come true. 🧬🖥️
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#MetagenomicsMonday #ancientDNA #aDNA #paleogenomics #bioinformatics

SPAAM Newsletter #8 Hello from the SPAAM Steering Committee in the New Year 2026!

We are excited to share with you the latest SPAAM Newsletter!
Inside, you’ll find: announcements, opportunities and publication highlights.
www.spaam-community.org/assets/media...
We hope you enjoy this edition!
#SPAAM #aDNA #Newsletter #paleogenomics #metagenomics

SPAAM Blog Post Competition · SPAAM Community Standards, Precautions, and Advances in Ancient Metagenomics

The SPAAM Community is thrilled to announce our first-ever blog post competition!
You will not only get a chance of having your post featured on the SPAAM website but also win a mystery book prize!
For more info and how to submit visit: www.spaam-community.org/news/2025/11...
#aDNA #writingcontest

Ancient DNA of the Toronto Subway Deer adds to the extinction list of ice age megafauna Abstract. The Late Pleistocene was a time of global megafaunal extinctions that were particularly severe in North America. The continent lost many mammal t

Starting 2026 strong with the first #MetagenomicsMonday 🧬post this year! Its 1976, deer remains are found in a Toronto subway and its antlers look.. well, different! 🦌 Is it an extinct megafauna species that disappeared by the end of ice age?📄
doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
#SPAAM #aDNA #paleogenomics

Paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever in 1812 Napoleon's devastated army During Napoleon’s retreat from Russia in 1812,1 countless soldiers of the French army succumbed to infectious diseases, but the responsible pathogen o…

What really devastated Napoleon’s army in 1812? ⚔️🧬 A new study uncovers DNA of previously unsuspected pathogens: Salmonella Paratyphi C and Borrelia recurrentis in the teeth of fallen soldiers.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #pathogens #fever #Napoleon