This is the first report of the sequencing of the nearly complete nuclear genome of an extinct animal, the woolly mammoth. 4.1 billion bases of high quality sequence from several mammoth species are reported, including 3.3 billion bases from the woolly mammoth. Nuclear-genome sequencing of extinct species and its comparison with the extant relatives (in this case African elephant) provide insights into elephantid evolution and population differences.
- Webb Miller
- Daniela I. Drautz
- Stephan C. Schuster
