Genetic researchers analyzed the microbiome of the dental plaque of the English King Richard III, who died in 1485. The work successfully yielded high-quality metagenomic data.
It was found that the composition of microbes found in the monarch largely matches collections of microorganisms previously identified in samples from Northern Europe covering the last seven millennia.
However, scientists were unable to find a sufficient amount of DNA from flora and fauna to reconstruct the king's diet.
The results of the study were officially presented in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology.