SPAAM

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

Detection of Clostridium sporogenes in a Roman-era cattle mass grave at Vilauba In the ancient Roman world, cattle played an integral role in daily agricultural tasks, providing the means necessary to plow fields, mill grains, and transport goods. The research presented here d...

aDNA from 14 Roman cattle uncovers Group I Clostridium related to toxigenic botulinum producers and an opportunistic Mycolicibacterium. 🐂🧬 Blind spot in ancient livestock health studies?
doi.org/10.1080/2150...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #bioarchaeology #pathogens

AncientMetagenomeDir Hackathon February 2026 Event Timing: February 6th, 2025 10:00 - 18:00 CET

Working on#ancientmetagenomics? Help us out to include radiocarbon dating metadata, and all the newly published studies! To register by fill out this form by Monday 26th of January 2026: forms.gle/WvSC46Lm26g8...

AncientMetagenomeDir (www.spaam-community.org/AncientMetag...) is a community project that aims to collect all the #metadata for all the published #ancientmetagenomic datasets 🦠🦠 In this hackathon, we are aiming to collect metadata information for new studies, AND also dating information ⏳ ⏳

It is time again to collect the metadata for your ancient metagenomic reference dataset? 💀💀 Do not fear, AncientMetagenomeDir is here! 🦸🦸
🚨🚨🚨Metadathon Alert! 🚨🚨🚨 On the 6th of February, we are meeting to update AncientMetagenomeDir!

Ballot for Constitutional Amendments The Steering Committee of SPAAM prepared amendments to the Constitution, primarily in order to introduce formal elections for the future Steering Committees. The amendments can be found in this…

The Steering Committee of SPAAM prepared amendments to the Constitution:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
They require a 2/3 majority of "YES" votes. We want to encourage all members to vote on the Constitution amendments until December 19, 2025. Thank you!

Targeted pathogen profiling of ancient feces reveals common enteric infections in the Rio Zape Valley, 725–920 CE DNA analysis of ancient, desiccated feces – termed paleofeces – can unlock insights into the lives of ancient peoples, including through examination of the gut microbiome and identification of…

What can ancient poop reveal about past health? 💩🧬 Paleofeces from 725–920 CE Mexico show multiple gut pathogens, including Blastocystis, Giardia, Entamoeba, and pathogenic E. coli. Enteric infections were likely common.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #paleofeces #pathogens

Optimizing ancient DNA recovery from archaeological plant seeds - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Optimizing ancient DNA recovery from archaeological plant seeds

Recovering DNA from ancient plants is tough, but this new method makes it work! A new extraction workflow improves recovery of fragmented endogenous plant aDNA while preserving library complexity and read yield.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#MetagenomicsMonday #SPAAM #aDNA #archaeobotany

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...
#SPAAM #aDNA #contest

Thank you for bringing this to our attention! Fixed :)