Yeast has been growing in the guts of a frozen mummy called Oetzi the Iceman for thousands of years, scientists have discovered, telling AFP they used it to make a tasty sourdough bread.
More than 5,300 years ago before the Egyptian pyramids were built, Oezti was strolling through the Alps on the border of Austria and Italy when he was killed by an arrow in the back.
He remained frozen in the ice until two German hikers stumbled across his mummified remains in 1991 in the northern Italian region of South Tyrol.
Since then, his stunningly well-preserved remains have been kept at the same temperature — minus six degrees Celsius — as his icy tomb.
This has allowed scientists to carefully study Oetzi, who offers an incredibly rare window into ancient human life.
For the latest research, published in the Microbiome journal on Wednesday, an Italy-based team found evidence that both ancient and modern microbial life remain active in the frozen body.
“What we didn’t expect to find was yeast,” lead study author Mohamed Sarhan of the Eurac Research institute in the Italian city of Bolzano told AFP.
The scientists discovered four different yeasts that can survive sub-zero temperatures in Oetzi’s guts, skin and “brownish” water that melted off his body when he was partially unfrozen.
These kinds of yeast only live in very cold conditions such as Antarctica, so are believed to have entered Oetzi’s body at some point after he died.
Genetic analysis revealed “DNA damage levels very comparable to the original microbes” in the Iceman’s guts, suggesting the yeast entered his body soon after death, Sarhan said.
“These yeasts have accompanied Oetzi on his long journey through the millennia,” study co-author Frank Maixner said in a statement.
The scientists then reproduced the gut yeast in a fridge.
“If you tell anyone you have yeast, they immediately ask: Can we use it for bread?” Sarhan said.
So they tried to make a sourdough loaf. “Initially it didn’t work,” the microbiologist admitted. But after three months of effort “we had a very, very good sourdough,” Sarhan said.
When asked if the scientists were considering using the yeast to brew beer, he responded: “It’s on the list.”
The study contained more serious possible uses for the yeast.
