In a major scientific breakthrough, researchers have successfully recovered RNA from an extinct animal for the first time, allowing them to study which genes were active when the animal was alive. The achievement was made using tissue from the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, which went extinct nearly 90 years ago.
The research was led by Dr. Marc R. Friedländer of Stockholm University in Sweden and published in the journal Genome Research. The team analysed skin and muscle samples taken from a 130-year-old thylacine specimen preserved in a Swedish museum. The animal had been stored dry at room temperature since the late 19th century, conditions once thought unsuitable for RNA preservation.
DNA reveals what genes an organism possesses, but RNA shows how those genes functioned inside living cells. Until now, scientists believed RNA degraded too quickly after death to survive in extinct species. This study overturns that assumption and opens a new field known as paleotranscriptomics, the study of ancient gene activity.
Recovering RNA from such old material was challenging because RNA is far more fragile than DNA. However, dry storage slowed down the chemical reactions that usually destroy RNA. Earlier studies had shown RNA survival in frozen environments like permafrost, but this is the first time it has been retrieved from a dry, room-temperature museum specimen.
To ensure authenticity, the researchers worked in specialised clean rooms designed for ancient biomolecules. Most of the recovered RNA matched the thylacine genome, while small traces of human RNA were consistent with historical handling. The team also examined chemical damage patterns typical of ancient RNA, further confirming the material’s age and origin.
Analysis of muscle tissue revealed strong signals from genes involved in muscle contraction and energy use, including titin, a key muscle protein. The RNA profile suggested the presence of slow-twitch muscle fibres, consistent with the location of the sampled tissue near the shoulder. Skin samples showed abundant keratin-related RNA, reflecting the protective outer layer of the body, and even traces of haemoglobin, indicating preserved blood remnants.
Researchers also identified microRNAs, tiny molecules that regulate gene activity, including a form unique to the thylacine. These regulatory RNAs differed clearly between skin and muscle, providing further evidence that the samples retained real tissue-specific biological information.
Beyond gene activity, the RNA data helped improve the thylacine genome map by identifying missing gene regions and correcting earlier annotations based only on DNA. The team also detected faint traces of RNA viruses, hinting that museum specimens may preserve records of ancient infections, though scientists caution that further verification is needed.
The Tasmanian tiger was a carnivorous marsupial once native to Australia and Tasmania. Intense hunting and habitat loss drove it to extinction, with the last known individual dying in captivity in 1936 at Hobart’s Beaumaris Zoo.
While the study was limited to a single animal and only fragments of RNA survived, scientists say the findings could transform research on extinct species. Future studies may reveal how ancient animals lived, adapted, fell ill, or responded to environmental stress, offering insights far beyond what DNA alone can provide.
This discovery shows that even long-extinct animals can still tell their biological stories, hidden for decades in museum drawers, waiting for science to catch up.