Genomic Diversity and Population Dynamics of the Woolly Mammoth Prior to Its Extinction

The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was a symbolic species of the megafauna that once roamed over Eurasia and North America but it disappeared from most  of its range at the end of the last Ice Age. Due to the abundance of well-preserved permafrost fossil remains, the woolly mammoth has been extensively studied using genetic tools and in particular mitochondrial DNA. A series of demographic changes and genetic replacements have been reported for woolly mammoth populations during the Late Pleistocene, however, the extinction of the last-surviving population on Wrangel Island still remains unresolved. Analysis of genome-wide sequence data using NGS technologies on radiocarbon-dated remains from Wrangel Island offer a unique opportunity to explore in more detail the history of the woolly mammoth before its final demise.