Key facts
- Scientists baked sourdough bread using ancient yeast from Ötzi the Iceman.
- The yeast was harvested from the mummy's insides and skin.
- The yeast strains are cold-resistant and adapted to glacial environments.
- The revived yeast was fed flour for two weeks to create a sourdough starter.
- Potential applications include fermentation at refrigerator temperatures, saving energy.
Researchers in Italy have successfully baked sourdough bread using ancient yeast revived from the 5,300-year-old Ötzi the Iceman mummy. Scientists from Eurac Research harvested several strains of cold-resistant yeast from the mummy's skin, digestive tract, and meltwater. After feeding the yeast flour for approximately two weeks, they created a sourdough starter and produced dough. The yeast's adaptation to cold temperatures, as Ötzi was preserved at around -6°C (21.2°F), suggests potential benefits for the modern food industry, such as enabling fermentation at refrigerator temperatures and reducing energy consumption during transport. Beer production is also being considered as a potential application. The study indicates the mummy's microbiome contains layers of microbial life from its lifetime, post-death colonization, and modern handling, with the cold-loving yeast strains originating from the glacial environment Ötzi was preserved in.