1
|
Wei Y, Dang GP, Ren ZY, Wan MC, Wang CY, Li HB, Zhang T, Tay FR, Niu LN. Recent advances in the pathogenesis and prevention strategies of dental calculus. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 2024; 10:56. [PMID: 39003275 PMCID: PMC11246453 DOI: 10.1038/s41522-024-00529-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Dental calculus severely affects the oral health of humans and animal pets. Calculus deposition affects the gingival appearance and causes inflammation. Failure to remove dental calculus from the dentition results in oral diseases such as periodontitis. Apart from adversely affecting oral health, some systemic diseases are closely related to dental calculus deposition. Hence, identifying the mechanisms of dental calculus formation helps protect oral and systemic health. A plethora of biological and physicochemical factors contribute to the physiological equilibrium in the oral cavity. Bacteria are an important part of the equation. Calculus formation commences when the bacterial equilibrium is broken. Bacteria accumulate locally and form biofilms on the tooth surface. The bacteria promote increases in local calcium and phosphorus concentrations, which triggers biomineralization and the development of dental calculus. Current treatments only help to relieve the symptoms caused by calculus deposition. These symptoms are prone to relapse if calculus removal is not under control. There is a need for a treatment regime that combines short-term and long-term goals in addressing calculus formation. The present review introduces the mechanisms of dental calculus formation, influencing factors, and the relationship between dental calculus and several systemic diseases. This is followed by the presentation of a conceptual solution for improving existing treatment strategies and minimizing recurrence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Gao-Peng Dang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Zhao-Yang Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Mei-Chen Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chen-Yu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Hong-Bo Li
- Department of Stomatology, the First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Department of Stomatology, the First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Franklin R Tay
- The Dental College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Li-Na Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
D'Agostino A, Di Marco G, Rolfo MF, Alessandri L, Marvelli S, Braglia R, Congestri R, Berrilli F, Fuciarelli MF, Ferracci A, Canini A, Gismondi A. Microparticles from dental calculus disclose paleoenvironmental and palaeoecological records. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11053. [PMID: 38405407 PMCID: PMC10891416 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Plants have always represented a key element in landscape delineation. Indeed, plant diversity, whose distribution is influenced by geographic/climatic variability, has affected both environmental and human ecology. The present contribution represents a multi-proxy study focused on the detection of starch, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in ancient dental calculus collected from pre-historical individuals buried at La Sassa and Pila archaeological sites (Central Italy). The collected record suggested the potential use of plant taxa by the people living in Central Italy during the Copper-Middle Bronze Age and expanded the body of evidence reported by previous palynological and palaeoecological studies. The application of a microscopic approach provided information about domesticated crops and/or gathered wild plants and inferred considerations on ancient environments, water sources, and past health and diseases. Moreover, the research supplied data to define the natural resources (e.g., C4-plant intake) and the social use of the space during that period. Another important aspect was the finding of plant clues referable to woody habitats, characterised by broad-leaved deciduous taxa and generally indicative of a warm-temperate climate and grassy vegetation. Other unusual records (e.g., diatoms, brachysclereids) participated in defining the prehistoric ecological framework. Thus, this work provides an overview on the potential of the human dental calculus analysis to delineate some features of the ancient plant ecology and biodiversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alessia D'Agostino
- Laboratory of Botany, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
- Present address: PhD Program in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Gabriele Di Marco
- Laboratory of Botany, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Mario Federico Rolfo
- Department of History, Culture and Society University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Luca Alessandri
- Groningen Institute of Archaeology University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Silvia Marvelli
- Laboratory of Palynology and Archaeobotany-C.A.A. Giorgio Nicoli Bologna Italy
| | - Roberto Braglia
- Laboratory of Botany, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Roberta Congestri
- Laboratory of Biology of the Algae, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Federica Berrilli
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | | | - Angelica Ferracci
- Department of History, Culture and Society University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Antonella Canini
- Laboratory of Botany, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| | - Angelo Gismondi
- Laboratory of Botany, Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Radini A, Nikita E. Beyond dirty teeth: Integrating dental calculus studies with osteoarchaeological parameters. QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR QUATERNARY RESEARCH 2023; 653-654:3-18. [PMID: 37089908 PMCID: PMC10109118 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2022.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The study of ancient human dental calculus (mineralized dental plaque, also known as tartar) is becoming increasingly important in osteoarchaeology, human palaeoecology and environmental archaeology. Microremains of different origin (e.g. starch granules, pollen, phytoliths, feather barbules) as well as biomolecules and chemical compounds retrieved from its mineral matrix may represent an important link between past humans and their physical, biological and social environment, but they are rarely fully linked to the evidence from skeletal remains. This paper critically reviews the lines of evidence retrieved from dental calculus in relation to osteoarchaeological parameters, employing macroscopic, microscopic and biomolecular approaches, assessing synergy potential and limitations. The scope of this paper is also to contribute to the building of a much needed theoretical framework in this emerging subfield.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anita Radini
- BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, The University of York, Wentworth Way, York, UK
- York JEOL Nanocentre, The University of York, Science Park, York, UK
- Corresponding author. BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, The University of York, Wentworth Way, York, UK.
| | - Efthymia Nikita
- Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, 2121, Aglantzia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Li Q, Luo K, Su Z, Huang F, Wu Y, Zhou F, Li Y, Peng X, Li J, Ren B. Dental calculus: A repository of bioinformation indicating diseases and human evolution. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1035324. [PMID: 36579339 PMCID: PMC9791188 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1035324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental calculus has long been considered as a vital contributing factor of periodontal diseases. Our review focuses on the role of dental calculus as a repository and discusses the bioinformation recently reported to be concealed in dental calculus from three perspectives: time-varying oral condition, systemic diseases, and anthropology at various times. Molecular information representing an individual's contemporary oral health status could be detected in dental calculus. Additionally, pathogenic factors of systemic diseases were found in dental calculus, including bacteria, viruses and toxic heavy metals. Thus, dental calculus has been proposed to play a role as biological data storage for detection of molecular markers of latent health concerns. Through the study of environmental debris in dental calculus, an overview of an individual's historical dietary habits and information about the environment, individual behaviors and social culture changes can be unveiled. This review summarizes a new role of dental calculus as a repository of bioinformation, with potential use in the prediction of oral diseases, systemic diseases, and even anthropology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qinyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kaihua Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhifei Su
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fangting Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fangjie Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xian Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiyao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Jiyao Li, ; Biao Ren,
| | - Biao Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Jiyao Li, ; Biao Ren,
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
The arrival of millets to the Atlantic coast of northern Iberia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18589. [PMID: 36329241 PMCID: PMC9633756 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23227-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite being one of the most important crops in the recent prehistory of Eurasia, the arrival and exploitation of millets in the westernmost part of Europe are still largely underexplored. Here and for the first time, we report multipronged biomolecular evidence of millet consumption along the Atlantic façade of northern Iberia through a combination of radiocarbon dating, stable isotopes, and dental calculus analyses on the human individuals found in the burial site of El Espinoso cave (Asturias, Spain). The high-resolution chronological framework established for individuals placed the burials between 1235 and 1099 cal. BC. The discovery of high δ13C values on their bone collagen and the identification of polyhedral starch grains within their dental plaque underline the relevance of C4 plants in their diet and highlights the timing of the systematic consumption of millets in the Late Bronze Age. Our data support previous regional archaeobotanical evidence and establish a more precise chronology of the dispersal of millets into northern Iberia during the Bronze Age, becoming an essential crop until the arrival of maize from America after AD 1492. This study emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary methods to ascertain the origin and development of agricultural practices during recent prehistory.
Collapse
|
6
|
Wu Y, Tao D, Wu X, Liu W, Cai Y. Diet of the earliest modern humans in East Asia. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:989308. [PMID: 36119583 PMCID: PMC9471156 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.989308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Reconstructing diet can offer an improved understanding toward the origin and evolution of modern humans. However, the diet of early modern humans in East Asia is poorly understood. Starch analysis of dental calculus is harmless to precious fossil hominins and provides the most direct evidence of plant food sources in early modern human dietary records. In this paper, we examined the starch grains in dental calculus from Fuyan Cave hominins in Daoxian (South China), which were the earliest modern humans in East Asia. Our results reveal the earliest direct evidence of a hominin diet made of acorns, roots, tubers, grass seeds, and other yet-unidentified plants in marine isotope stage 5 between 120 and 80 ka. Our study also provides the earliest evidence that acorns may have played an important role in subsistence strategies. There may have been a long-lasting tradition of using these plants during the Late Pleistocene in China. Plant foods would have been a plentiful source of carbohydrates that greatly increased energy availability to human tissues with high glucose demands. Our study provides the earliest direct consumption of carbohydrates-rich plant resources from modern humans in China for the first time. In addition, it also helps elucidate the evolutionary advantages of early modern humans in the late Middle and early Upper Pleistocene.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Dawei Tao
- Department of Archaeology, School of History, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Reconstructing Neanderthal diet: The case for carbohydrates. J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103105. [PMID: 34923240 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Evidence for plants rarely survives on Paleolithic sites, while animal bones and biomolecular analyses suggest animal produce was important to hominin populations, leading to the perspective that Neanderthals had a very-high-protein diet. But although individual and short-term survival is possible on a relatively low-carbohydrate diet, populations are unlikely to have thrived and reproduced without plants and the carbohydrates they provide. Today, nutritional guidelines recommend that around half the diet should be carbohydrate, while low intake is considered to compromise physical performance and successful reproduction. This is likely to have been the same for Paleolithic populations, highlighting an anomaly in that the basic physiological recommendations do not match the extensive archaeological evidence. Neanderthals had large, energy-expensive brains and led physically active lifestyles, suggesting that for optimal health they would have required high amounts of carbohydrates. To address this anomaly, we begin by outlining the essential role of carbohydrates in the human reproduction cycle and the brain and the effects on physical performance. We then evaluate the evidence for resource availability and the archaeological evidence for Neanderthal diet and investigate three ways that the anomaly between the archaeological evidence and the hypothetical dietary requirements might be explained. First, Neanderthals may have had an as yet unidentified genetic adaptation to an alternative physiological method to spare blood glucose and glycogen reserves for essential purposes. Second, they may have existed on a less-than-optimum diet and survived rather than thrived. Third, the methods used in dietary reconstruction could mask a complex combination of dietary plant and animal proportions. We end by proposing that analyses of Paleolithic diet and subsistence strategies need to be grounded in the minimum recommendations throughout the life course and that this provides a context for interpretation of the archaeological evidence from the behavioral and environmental perspectives.
Collapse
|
8
|
Valdes-Stauber J, Hummel K. The relationship between dental anxiety and other kinds of anxiety: a naturalistic, cross-sectional and comparative study. BMC Psychol 2021; 9:184. [PMID: 34819158 PMCID: PMC8611955 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-021-00684-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dental anxiety is of public health importance because it leads to postponed dental treatment, which comes with health complications. The present study investigated whether there is a correlation between the degree of dental anxiety and other kinds of anxiety and whether there are prognostic factors for the different kinds of anxiety. METHOD In the sample (N = 156) from a dental practice in a large German city, 62% of patients received a check-examination and 38% received dental surgery. The target variables were recorded with validated questionnaires: dental anxiety (IDAF-4c+), subclinical anxiety (SubA), anxiety of negative evaluation (SANB-5), current general anxiety (STAI state), loneliness (LS-S) and self-efficacy (GSW-6). The applied statistics were: t-tests for 31 variables, correlation matrix and multivariate and bivariate regression analyses. RESULTS The dental surgery patients displayed more dental anxiety and more dental interventions than the check-examination group. The main result was a positive correlation of all kinds of anxiety with each other, a positive correlation of loneliness and neuroticism with all forms of anxiety and a negative correlation between all forms of anxiety and self-efficacy. Especially dental anxiety is positively associated with other kinds of anxiety. In multivariate regression models only neuroticism is associated with dental anxiety, but feelings of loneliness are positively associated with with the other kinds of anxiety assessed in this study. The higher the self-efficacy, the lower the level of general anxiety. CONCLUSIONS In dentistry, anxiety from negative experiences with buccal interventions should be distinguished from anxiety caused by personality traits. Self-efficacy tends to protect against anxiety, while loneliness and neuroticism are direct or indirect risk factors for anxiety in this urban dentistry sample. Dental anxiety seems to be independent from biographical strains but not from neuroticism. In practice, more attention must be paid to anxiety control, self-management and efforts to improve the confidence of patients with emotional lability, less self-confidence and propensity to shame.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juan Valdes-Stauber
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy I, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Kevin Hummel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy I, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Granehäll L, Huang KD, Tett A, Manghi P, Paladin A, O’Sullivan N, Rota-Stabelli O, Segata N, Zink A, Maixner F. Metagenomic analysis of ancient dental calculus reveals unexplored diversity of oral archaeal Methanobrevibacter. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:197. [PMID: 34593021 PMCID: PMC8485483 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01132-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dental calculus (mineralised dental plaque) preserves many types of microfossils and biomolecules, including microbial and host DNA, and ancient calculus are thus an important source of information regarding our ancestral human oral microbiome. In this study, we taxonomically characterised the dental calculus microbiome from 20 ancient human skeletal remains originating from Trentino-South Tyrol, Italy, dating from the Neolithic (6000-3500 BCE) to the Early Middle Ages (400-1000 CE). RESULTS We found a high abundance of the archaeal genus Methanobrevibacter in the calculus. However, only a fraction of the sequences showed high similarity to Methanobrevibacter oralis, the only described Methanobrevibacter species in the human oral microbiome so far. To further investigate the diversity of this genus, we used de novo metagenome assembly to reconstruct 11 Methanobrevibacter genomes from the ancient calculus samples. Besides the presence of M. oralis in one of the samples, our phylogenetic analysis revealed two hitherto uncharacterised and unnamed oral Methanobrevibacter species that are prevalent in ancient calculus samples sampled from a broad range of geographical locations and time periods. CONCLUSIONS We have shown the potential of using de novo metagenomic assembly on ancient samples to explore microbial diversity and evolution. Our study suggests that there has been a possible shift in the human oral microbiome member Methanobrevibacter over the last millennia. Video abstract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lena Granehäll
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Biology II, Anthropology and Human Genomics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Kun D. Huang
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
- Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy
| | - Adrian Tett
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
- CUBE - Division of Computational Systems Biology, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Paolo Manghi
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Alice Paladin
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Niall O’Sullivan
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Omar Rota-Stabelli
- Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy
- Center Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Nicola Segata
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Salazar-García DC, Power RC, Rudaya N, Kolobova K, Markin S, Krivoshapkin A, Henry AG, Richards MP, Viola B. Dietary evidence from Central Asian Neanderthals: A combined isotope and plant microremains approach at Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai, Russia). J Hum Evol 2021; 156:102985. [PMID: 34051612 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Neanderthals are known primarily from their habitation of Western Eurasia, but they also populated large expanses of Northern Asia for thousands of years. Owing to a sparse archaeological record, relatively little is known about these eastern Neanderthal populations. Unlike in their western range, there are limited zooarchaeological and paleobotanical studies that inform us about the nature of their subsistence. Here, we perform a combined analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes on bone collagen and microbotanical remains in dental calculus to reconstruct the diet of eastern Neanderthals at Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains of Southern Siberia, Russia. Stable isotopes identify one individual as possessing a high trophic level due to the hunting of large- and medium-sized ungulates, while the analysis of dental calculus also indicates the presence of plants in the diet of this individual and others from the site. These findings indicate eastern Neanderthals may have had broadly similar subsistence patterns to those elsewhere in their range.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Domingo C Salazar-García
- Department of Human Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia I Història Antiga, Universitat de València, València, Spain; Grupo de Investigación en Prehistoria IT-1223-19 (UPV-EHU)/IKERBASQUE-Basque Foundation for Science, Vitoria, Spain; Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Robert C Power
- Department of Human Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Schellingstraße, 1280799, München, Germany.
| | - Natalia Rudaya
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Ksenya Kolobova
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Sergey Markin
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Andrey Krivoshapkin
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Amanda G Henry
- Department of Archaeological Sciences, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Bence Viola
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Nodari R, Drancourt M, Barbieri R. Paleomicrobiology of the human digestive tract: A review. Microb Pathog 2021; 157:104972. [PMID: 34029658 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2021.104972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The microbiota is a hot topic of research in medical microbiology, boosted by culturomics and metagenomics, with unanticipated knowledge outputs in physiology and pathology. Knowledge of the microbiota in ancient populations may therefore be of prime interest in understanding factors shaping the coevolution of the microbiota and populations. Studies on ancient human microbiomes can help us understand how the community of microorganisms presents in the oral cavity and the gut was shaped during the evolution of our species and what environmental, social or cultural changes may have changed it. This review cumulates and summarizes the discoveries in the field of the ancient human microbiota, focusing on the remains used as samples and techniques used to handle and analyze them.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Nodari
- Department of Biosciences and Pediatric Clinical Research Center "Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi", University of Milan, Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Michel Drancourt
- Aix-Marseille Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Rémi Barbieri
- Aix-Marseille Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France; UMR 7268, Anthropologie Bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, Aix Marseille Univ., 11 CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Ben-Dor M, Sirtoli R, Barkai R. The evolution of the human trophic level during the Pleistocene. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175 Suppl 72:27-56. [PMID: 33675083 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The human trophic level (HTL) during the Pleistocene and its degree of variability serve, explicitly or tacitly, as the basis of many explanations for human evolution, behavior, and culture. Previous attempts to reconstruct the HTL have relied heavily on an analogy with recent hunter-gatherer groups' diets. In addition to technological differences, recent findings of substantial ecological differences between the Pleistocene and the Anthropocene cast doubt regarding that analogy's validity. Surprisingly little systematic evolution-guided evidence served to reconstruct HTL. Here, we reconstruct the HTL during the Pleistocene by reviewing evidence for the impact of the HTL on the biological, ecological, and behavioral systems derived from various existing studies. We adapt a paleobiological and paleoecological approach, including evidence from human physiology and genetics, archaeology, paleontology, and zoology, and identified 25 sources of evidence in total. The evidence shows that the trophic level of the Homo lineage that most probably led to modern humans evolved from a low base to a high, carnivorous position during the Pleistocene, beginning with Homo habilis and peaking in Homo erectus. A reversal of that trend appears in the Upper Paleolithic, strengthening in the Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic and Neolithic, and culminating with the advent of agriculture. We conclude that it is possible to reach a credible reconstruction of the HTL without relying on a simple analogy with recent hunter-gatherers' diets. The memory of an adaptation to a trophic level that is embedded in modern humans' biology in the form of genetics, metabolism, and morphology is a fruitful line of investigation of past HTLs, whose potential we have only started to explore.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miki Ben-Dor
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Ran Barkai
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Sørensen LK, Hasselstrøm JB, Larsen LS, Bindslev DA. Entrapment of drugs in dental calculus - Detection validation based on test results from post-mortem investigations. Forensic Sci Int 2020; 319:110647. [PMID: 33341470 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
For prospective investigation of drugs and metabolites in archaeological and contemporary dental calculus, a sensitive, broadly applicable ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method using pneumatically assisted electrospray ionisation (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) was developed. The dental calculus was treated with citric acid and the dissolution extracts were cleaned using weak and strong polymeric cation-exchange sorbents. The method was validated on hydroxyapatite for the analysis of 67 drugs and metabolites. Typically, the lower limits of quantification were in the range of 0.01-0.05ng for the sample mass extracted. The general applicability of the method was tested using dental calculus material sampled from 10 corpses undergoing forensic autopsy. The calculus material was washed several times before dissolution to remove residual substances originating from saliva, gingival crevicular fluid and blood. The wash extracts and the calculus samples (cleaned calculus material) were analysed using the same instrumental conditions. The dry mass of the calculus samples ranged from 1 to 10mg. The total number of drug detections was 131 in the dental calculus samples and 117 in the whole blood samples. From the analyses of the wash extracts and calculus samples, it was proven that drug residues were trapped in the interior of the calculus material. In 82 of the drug detections, the drug concentrations were higher in the dental calculus than in the blood. Among substances detected in the dental calculus but not in the blood were cocaine, heroin, 6-MAM and THCA-A.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lambert K Sørensen
- Section for Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark.
| | - Jørgen B Hasselstrøm
- Section for Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Line S Larsen
- Section of Dental Pathology, Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Health, Aarhus University, Vennelyst Boulevard 9, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Dorthe A Bindslev
- Section for Forensic Pathology, Department of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Abstract
The Paleolithic diet (PaleoDiet) is an allegedly healthy dietary pattern inspired by the consumption of wild foods and animals assumed to be consumed in the Paleolithic era. Despite gaining popularity in the media, different operational definitions of this Paleolithic nutritional intake have been used in research. Our hypothesis is that specific components used to define the PaleoDiet may modulate the association of this diet with several health outcomes. We comprehensively reviewed currently applied PaleoDiet scores and suggested a new score based on the food composition of current PaleoDiet definitions and the theoretical food content of a staple dietary pattern in the Paleolithic age. In a PubMed search up to December 2019, fourteen different PaleoDiet definitions were found. We observed some common components of the PaleoDiet among these definitions although we also found high heterogeneity in the list of specific foods that should be encouraged or banned within the PaleoDiet. Most studies suggest that the PaleoDiet may have beneficial effects in the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes, overweight/obesity, CVD and hyperlipidaemias) but the level of evidence is still weak because of the limited number of studies with a large sample size, hard outcomes instead of surrogate outcomes and long-term follow-up. Finally, we propose a new PaleoDiet score composed of eleven food items, based on a high consumption of fruits, nuts, vegetables, fish, eggs and unprocessed meats (lean meats); and a minimum content of dairy products, grains and cereals, and legumes and practical absence of processed (or ultra-processed) foods or culinary ingredients.
Collapse
|
15
|
Hardy K. Paleomedicine and the use of plant secondary compounds in the Paleolithic and Early Neolithic. Evol Anthropol 2019; 28:60-71. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karen Hardy
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23 08010 Barcelona Catalonia Spain
- Departament de PrehistòriaFacultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona Catalonia Spain
| |
Collapse
|