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Authentic Ancient DNA Recovered From a ~50,000-Year-Old Mountain Reedbuck Tooth

Male and female mountain reedbuck in South Africa
Research · Molecular biology & biochemistry

Authentic ancient DNA was recovered from a mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula) molar from Boomplaas Cave in South Africa that is stratigraphically estimated to be at least about 50,000 years old. The tooth produced the oldest DNA-bearing specimen in a broad study of biomolecular preservation in South African bovid fossils.

DNA older than the Holocene was rare, but not absent

Researchers screened 144 fossil specimens for DNA. Sixty-five yielded enough endogenous DNA for genetic identification, meaning DNA that came from the fossil animal itself rather than from microbes, people or other contamination. Of those 65 identifiable specimens, 61 were Holocene in age, younger than 11,700 years. Only four Late Pleistocene teeth, dating from roughly 12,000 to 50,000 years ago, retained authentic ancient DNA.

The oldest mountain reedbuck tooth contained only about 0.2% endogenous DNA. Its sequences were short and showed the characteristic damage pattern expected from genuinely ancient DNA. Human DNA contamination was also present, but reads matching humans were removed computationally before the fossil sequences were interpreted.

Genetic data corrected the original species identification

The partial molar had previously been identified from its morphology as southern reedbuck (Redunca arundinum). Genetic comparison instead identified it as mountain reedbuck. This illustrates a second use of ancient DNA beyond reconstructing genomes: even a small amount of authentic material can refine or correct species assignments when closely related fossils are difficult to distinguish by shape alone.

The age of the tooth was inferred from its archaeological layer at Boomplaas rather than measured directly by radiocarbon dating, so the authors treat the approximately 50,000-year estimate cautiously. The broader conclusion is stronger: authentic DNA can survive in southern African animal fossils for tens of thousands of years, although successful recovery becomes much less common beyond the Holocene.

Library preparation also mattered. Single-stranded DNA libraries recovered up to 6.7 times more endogenous DNA than double-stranded libraries and retained greater sequence complexity. Ancient DNA is often highly fragmented, and the single-stranded method is better able to capture these very short damaged molecules. The result therefore improves the prospects for palaeogenetic work on warm-region fossil collections where usable DNA may be present only in small amounts.

Sources and image credit

  1. de Jager, D., Wilson, A. M., Rey-Iglesia, A., Faith, J. T., O'Brien, K., Black, W., Seconna, W., Hall, O., Szpak, P., & Lorenzen, E. D. (2026). Evaluation of DNA and collagen preservation in Late Pleistocene and Holocene bovid fossils from South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews, 388, 110076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.110076Primary peer-reviewed study. The article was reported as published online 27 May 2026; the journal issue is dated 15 September 2026. Of 144 fossils screened for DNA, four Late Pleistocene specimens retained authentic ancient DNA; the oldest was an approximately 50,000-year-old mountain reedbuck tooth from Boomplaas Cave.
  2. Killgrove, K. (2026, July 14). Scientists show that DNA can last for up to 50,000 years in Africa — much longer than previously thought. Live Science.Secondary source confirming that the primary study was published online 27 May 2026 and reporting the lead author's caution about the oldest sample's stratigraphic age and human DNA contamination.

Image: Bernard DUPONT / Wikimedia Commons / Flickr — male and female mountain reedbuck at Ngulubeni Loop, Ithala Game Reserve, South Africa, 21 September 2016; representative species image, not fossil study material · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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Molecular biology & biochemistry

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