Ancient DNA of 1 million years old found in Antarctica

Researchers from the University of Tasmania have completed the first stage of the study of ancient DNA samples extracted from beneath the bottom of the Scotia Sea near Antarctica. The materials were obtained by drilling the seafloor back in 2019, but a lot of effort had to be put into cleaning them of possible modern impurities and contaminants. Scientists can now confirm that the DNA found is one of the oldest in the history of science – it is about 1 million years old.

Antarctica is considered the most vulnerable place to climate change because it is almost entirely covered by ice. The continent’s flora and fauna have changed dramatically from how intensely it melted at different periods of history. The discovery of ancient DNA fragments helps track patterns in these processes and make predictions.

On the other hand, low temperatures, lack of UV and oxygen make the Antarctic floor an ideal “storehouse” of ancient biological materials. Along with the mentioned DNA, traces of diatomic algae about half a million years old were found under the bottom of the Scotia Sea. Their study showed that Antarctica had recently experienced several periods of intense warming, during which sea levels rose and life began to boil there.

The last such warming period occurred just 14.5 thousand years ago, during the existence of intelligent people. Researchers are now studying the DNA fragments they found to look for traces of other climatic changes in the past. And they are in a hurry, because there are plenty of signs that we have misjudged the ecosystem model of this region. Local but widespread changes in Antarctica may be a frequent and unpredictable phenomenon.