Overview
- Researchers at Eurac Research published a Microbiome paper reporting that they isolated four cold‑adapted yeast strains from Ötzi’s skin, internal meltwater and stomach samples and kept the strains alive for about three months.
- The team used one cultivated strain as a starter to ferment dough and produced a sourdough loaf the authors described as successful after repeated refreshment and adaptation to flour.
- Genetic analyses in the study confirm the presence of ancient gut bacterial DNA in Ötzi’s intestinal tissue and stomach contents while also identifying cold‑loving microbes likely associated with the glacier or introduced later.
- Authors and outside experts stress that the evidence does not yet prove long‑term metabolic activity on the mummy because the study lacks activity‑specific assays such as RNA or other metabolic tests.
- The findings have two clear implications: they open possible low‑temperature fermentation uses for cold‑adapted microbes and prompt museum scientists to strengthen microbiological monitoring and re‑evaluate preservation protocols to protect the remains.