Revival and identification of bacterial spores in 25- to 40-million-year-old Dominican amber

1995/05/19 by Raúl J. Cano, Monica K. Borucki · 639 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Plant and animal studies #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Fossil Insects in Amber #Extant taxon #Spore #Bacteria #Bacillus (shape) #Biology #16S ribosomal RNA #Microbiology #Ribosomal DNA #Zoology #Phylogenetics #Evolutionary biology #Genetics

paper · doi:10.1126/science.7538699

published in Science 268(5213), 1060-1064 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

openalex publication_date 1995/05/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

A bacterial spore was revived, cultured, and identified from the abdominal contents of extinct bees preserved for 25 to 40 million years in buried Dominican amber. Rigorous surface decontamination of the amber and aseptic procedures were used during the recovery of the bacterium. Several lines of evidence indicated that the isolated bacterium was of ancient origin and not an extant contaminant. The characteristic enzymatic, biochemical, and 16S ribosomal DNA profiles indicated that the ancient bacterium is most closely related to extant Bacillus sphaericus.

Citations

• Bacillus DNA in fossil bees: an ancient symbiosis?
• Desiccation tolerance of prokaryotes
• Amplification and sequencing of DNA from a 120–135-million-year-old weevil
• Instability and decay of the primary structure of DNA

Cited by

• Resistance ofBacillusEndospores to Extreme Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Environments
• Life: past, present and future
• Long-term persistence of bacterial DNA
• Fungal Spores for Dispersion in Space and Time
• Shape of the growing front of biofilms
• Bacteria [wikipedia]