Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland

Eske Willerslev; Enrico Cappellini; Wouter Boomsma; Rasmus Nielsen; Martin B. Hebsgaard; Tina B. Brand; Michael Hofreiter; Michael Bunce; Hendrik N. Poinar; Dorthe Dahl-Jensen; Sigfus Johnsen; Jørgen Peder Steffensen; Ole Bennike; Jean Luc Schwenninger; Roger Nathan; Simon Armitage; Cees Jan De Hoog; Vasily Alfimov; Marcus Christl; Juerg Beer; Raimund Muscheler; Joel Barker; Martin Sharp; Kirsty E.H. Penkman; James Haile; Pierre Taberlet; M. Thomas P. Gilbert; Antonella Casoli; Elisa Campani; Matthew J. Collins

doi:10.1126/science.1141758

Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland

Eske Willerslev, Enrico Cappellini, Wouter Boomsma, Rasmus Nielsen, Martin B. Hebsgaard, Tina B. Brand, Michael Hofreiter, Michael Bunce, Hendrik N. Poinar, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Sigfus Johnsen, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Ole Bennike, Jean Luc Schwenninger, Roger Nathan, Simon Armitage, Cees Jan De Hoog, Vasily Alfimov, Marcus Christl, Juerg BeerRaimund Muscheler, Joel Barker, Martin Sharp, Kirsty E.H. Penkman, James Haile, Pierre Taberlet, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Antonella Casoli, Elisa Campani, Matthew J. Collins

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Abstract

It is difficult to obtain fossil data from the 10% of Earth's terrestrial surface that is covered by thick glaciers and ice sheets, and hence, knowledge of the paleoenvironments of these regions has remained limited. We show that DNA and amino acids from buried organisms can be recovered from the basal sections of deep ice cores, enabling reconstructions of past flora and fauna. We show that high-altitude southern Greenland, currently lying below more than 2 kilometers of ice, was inhabited by a diverse array of conifer trees and insects within the past million years. The results provide direct evidence in support of a forested southern Greenland and suggest that many deep ice cores may contain genetic records of paleoenvironments in their basal sections.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	111-114
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	317
Issue number	5834
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758
State	Published - Jul 6 2007
Externally published	Yes

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Willerslev, E., Cappellini, E., Boomsma, W., Nielsen, R., Hebsgaard, M. B., Brand, T. B., Hofreiter, M., Bunce, M., Poinar, H. N., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S., Steffensen, J. P., Bennike, O., Schwenninger, J. L., Nathan, R., Armitage, S., De Hoog, C. J., Alfimov, V., Christl, M., ... Collins, M. J. (2007). Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland. Science, 317(5834), 111-114. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758

Willerslev, E, Cappellini, E, Boomsma, W, Nielsen, R, Hebsgaard, MB, Brand, TB, Hofreiter, M, Bunce, M, Poinar, HN, Dahl-Jensen, D, Johnsen, S, Steffensen, JP, Bennike, O, Schwenninger, JL, Nathan, R, Armitage, S, De Hoog, CJ, Alfimov, V, Christl, M, Beer, J, Muscheler, R, Barker, J, Sharp, M, Penkman, KEH, Haile, J, Taberlet, P, Gilbert, MTP, Casoli, A, Campani, E & Collins, MJ 2007, 'Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland', Science, vol. 317, no. 5834, pp. 111-114. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141758

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abstract = "It is difficult to obtain fossil data from the 10% of Earth's terrestrial surface that is covered by thick glaciers and ice sheets, and hence, knowledge of the paleoenvironments of these regions has remained limited. We show that DNA and amino acids from buried organisms can be recovered from the basal sections of deep ice cores, enabling reconstructions of past flora and fauna. We show that high-altitude southern Greenland, currently lying below more than 2 kilometers of ice, was inhabited by a diverse array of conifer trees and insects within the past million years. The results provide direct evidence in support of a forested southern Greenland and suggest that many deep ice cores may contain genetic records of paleoenvironments in their basal sections.",

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AU - Poinar, Hendrik N.

AU - Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe

AU - Johnsen, Sigfus

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AU - Schwenninger, Jean Luc

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AU - De Hoog, Cees Jan

AU - Alfimov, Vasily

AU - Christl, Marcus

AU - Beer, Juerg

AU - Muscheler, Raimund

AU - Barker, Joel

AU - Sharp, Martin

AU - Penkman, Kirsty E.H.

AU - Haile, James

AU - Taberlet, Pierre

AU - Gilbert, M. Thomas P.

AU - Casoli, Antonella

AU - Campani, Elisa

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Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland

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