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Akbari A, Barton AR, Gazal S, Li Z, Kariminejad M, Perry A, Zeng Y, Mittnik A, Patterson N, Mah M, Zhou X, Price AL, Lander ES, Pinhasi R, Rohland N, Mallick S, Reich D. Pervasive findings of directional selection realize the promise of ancient DNA to elucidate human adaptation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.09.14.613021. [PMID: 39314480 PMCID: PMC11419161 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.14.613021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
We present a method for detecting evidence of natural selection in ancient DNA time-series data that leverages an opportunity not utilized in previous scans: testing for a consistent trend in allele frequency change over time. By applying this to 8433 West Eurasians who lived over the past 14000 years and 6510 contemporary people, we find an order of magnitude more genome-wide significant signals than previous studies: 347 independent loci with >99% probability of selection. Previous work showed that classic hard sweeps driving advantageous mutations to fixation have been rare over the broad span of human evolution, but in the last ten millennia, many hundreds of alleles have been affected by strong directional selection. Discoveries include an increase from ~0% to ~20% in 4000 years for the major risk factor for celiac disease at HLA-DQB1; a rise from ~0% to ~8% in 6000 years of blood type B; and fluctuating selection at the TYK2 tuberculosis risk allele rising from ~2% to ~9% from ~5500 to ~3000 years ago before dropping to ~3%. We identify instances of coordinated selection on alleles affecting the same trait, with the polygenic score today predictive of body fat percentage decreasing by around a standard deviation over ten millennia, consistent with the "Thrifty Gene" hypothesis that a genetic predisposition to store energy during food scarcity became disadvantageous after farming. We also identify selection for combinations of alleles that are today associated with lighter skin color, lower risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disease, slower health decline, and increased measures related to cognitive performance (scores on intelligence tests, household income, and years of schooling). These traits are measured in modern industrialized societies, so what phenotypes were adaptive in the past is unclear. We estimate selection coefficients at 9.9 million variants, enabling study of how Darwinian forces couple to allelic effects and shape the genetic architecture of complex traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Akbari
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alison R Barton
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Steven Gazal
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Zheng Li
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Annabel Perry
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yating Zeng
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Alissa Mittnik
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nick Patterson
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Matthew Mah
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xiang Zhou
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Alkes L Price
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eric S Lander
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nadin Rohland
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Swapan Mallick
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David Reich
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Hansen DW, DeWitte SN, Slavin P. Dying of pestilence: Stature and mortality from the Black Death in 14th-century Kyrgyzstan. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024:e25009. [PMID: 39238322 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.25009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Bioarchaeological studies have provided important information about mortality patterns during the second pandemic of plague, including the Black Death, but most to date have focused on European contexts. This study represents a spatial contribution to plague bioarchaeology, focusing on Central Asia, the origin of the second pandemic. We examine the relationship between stature and plague mortality during an outbreak of plague at Kara-Djigach in northern Kyrgyzstan in 1338-1339, the earliest archaeological site known to contain victims of the Black Death in Eurasia. METHODS This study uses epigraphic data and in situ measurements from the Syriac Christian cemeteries at Kara-Djigach, obtained from field notes from excavations conducted by Russian archaeologists in the 1880s (n = 34 individuals). The epigraphic data provide detailed information about the interred individuals, including occupations, year of death, and gender. In situ measurements provide data on adult stature. This study uses chi-square and Fisher's exact tests to examine relationships between stature and plague at the site. RESULTS We find evidence that relatively short people were disproportionately affected by plague when compared with non-plague years. DISCUSSION These results might reflect increased mortality risks from plague based on exposure to early life biological stress events.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Hansen
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Sharon N DeWitte
- Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Philip Slavin
- Division of History, Heritage and Politics, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
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3
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Mongillo J, Zedda N, Rinaldo N, Bellini T, Manfrinato MC, Du Z, Yang R, Stenseth NC, Bramanti B. Differential pathogenicity and lethality of bubonic plague (1720-1945) by sex, age and place. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240724. [PMID: 39045692 PMCID: PMC11267469 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 brought back to the attention of the scientific community that males are more susceptible to infectious diseases. What is clear for other infections-that sex and gender differences influence both risk of infection and mortality-is not yet fully elucidated for plague, particularly bubonic plague, although this knowledge can help find specific defences against a disease for which a vaccine is not yet available. To address this question, we analysed data on plague from hospitals in different parts of the world since the early eighteenth century, which provide demographic information on individual patients, diagnosis and course of the disease in the pre-antibiotic era. Assuming that the two sexes were equally represented, we observe a worldwide prevalence of male cases hospitalized at any age, a result which seems better explained by gender-biased (thus cultural) behaviours than biological sex-related factors. Conversely, case fatality rates differ among countries and geographic macro-areas, while globally, lethality appears slightly prevalent in young females and older adults (regardless of sex). Logistic regression models confirm that the main risk factor for bubonic plague death was the geographical location of the cases and being older than 50 years, whereas sex only showcased a slight trend.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Mongillo
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
| | - N. Zedda
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
| | - N. Rinaldo
- Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
| | - T. Bellini
- Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
- University Strategic Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
| | - M. C. Manfrinato
- Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
| | - Z. Du
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, People‘s Republic of China
| | - R. Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, People‘s Republic of China
| | - N. C. Stenseth
- Center for Pandemics and One Health Research, Sustainable Health Unit (SUSTAINIT), Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo0316, Norway
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo0316, Norway
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing100084, People‘s Republic of China
| | - B. Bramanti
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
- University Strategic Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara44121, Italy
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo0316, Norway
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Sandoval-Velasco M, Dudchenko O, Rodríguez JA, Pérez Estrada C, Dehasque M, Fontsere C, Mak SST, Khan R, Contessoto VG, Oliveira Junior AB, Kalluchi A, Zubillaga Herrera BJ, Jeong J, Roy RP, Christopher I, Weisz D, Omer AD, Batra SS, Shamim MS, Durand NC, O'Connell B, Roca AL, Plikus MV, Kusliy MA, Romanenko SA, Lemskaya NA, Serdyukova NA, Modina SA, Perelman PL, Kizilova EA, Baiborodin SI, Rubtsov NB, Machol G, Rath K, Mahajan R, Kaur P, Gnirke A, Garcia-Treviño I, Coke R, Flanagan JP, Pletch K, Ruiz-Herrera A, Plotnikov V, Pavlov IS, Pavlova NI, Protopopov AV, Di Pierro M, Graphodatsky AS, Lander ES, Rowley MJ, Wolynes PG, Onuchic JN, Dalén L, Marti-Renom MA, Gilbert MTP, Aiden EL. Three-dimensional genome architecture persists in a 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth skin sample. Cell 2024; 187:3541-3562.e51. [PMID: 38996487 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Analyses of ancient DNA typically involve sequencing the surviving short oligonucleotides and aligning to genome assemblies from related, modern species. Here, we report that skin from a female woolly mammoth (†Mammuthus primigenius) that died 52,000 years ago retained its ancient genome architecture. We use PaleoHi-C to map chromatin contacts and assemble its genome, yielding 28 chromosome-length scaffolds. Chromosome territories, compartments, loops, Barr bodies, and inactive X chromosome (Xi) superdomains persist. The active and inactive genome compartments in mammoth skin more closely resemble Asian elephant skin than other elephant tissues. Our analyses uncover new biology. Differences in compartmentalization reveal genes whose transcription was potentially altered in mammoths vs. elephants. Mammoth Xi has a tetradic architecture, not bipartite like human and mouse. We hypothesize that, shortly after this mammoth's death, the sample spontaneously freeze-dried in the Siberian cold, leading to a glass transition that preserved subfossils of ancient chromosomes at nanometer scale.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Olga Dudchenko
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Juan Antonio Rodríguez
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, Denmark; Centre Nacional d'Anàlisi Genòmica, CNAG, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cynthia Pérez Estrada
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Marianne Dehasque
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Claudia Fontsere
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah S T Mak
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ruqayya Khan
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | | | - Achyuth Kalluchi
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Bernardo J Zubillaga Herrera
- Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Jiyun Jeong
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Renata P Roy
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Departments of Biology and Physics, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX 77004, USA
| | - Ishawnia Christopher
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - David Weisz
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Arina D Omer
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Sanjit S Batra
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Muhammad S Shamim
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Neva C Durand
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Brendan O'Connell
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Alfred L Roca
- Department of Animal Sciences and Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Maksim V Plikus
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Mariya A Kusliy
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | | | - Natalya A Lemskaya
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | | | - Svetlana A Modina
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Polina L Perelman
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Elena A Kizilova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | | | - Nikolai B Rubtsov
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Gur Machol
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Krisha Rath
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ragini Mahajan
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Parwinder Kaur
- UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Andreas Gnirke
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Rob Coke
- San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, TX 78212, USA
| | | | | | - Aurora Ruiz-Herrera
- Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Fisiologia i Immunologia and Genome Integrity and Instability Group, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | | | | | - Naryya I Pavlova
- Institute of Biological Problems of Cryolitezone SB RAS, Yakutsk 677000, Russia
| | - Albert V Protopopov
- Academy of Sciences of Sakha Republic, Yakutsk 677000, Russia; North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk 677027, Russia
| | - Michele Di Pierro
- Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Eric S Lander
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - M Jordan Rowley
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Peter G Wolynes
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA; Departments of Physics, Astronomy, & Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - José N Onuchic
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA; Departments of Physics, Astronomy, & Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Love Dalén
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marc A Marti-Renom
- Centre Nacional d'Anàlisi Genòmica, CNAG, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; ICREA, 08010 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08002 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - M Thomas P Gilbert
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, Denmark; University Museum NTNU, 7012 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Erez Lieberman Aiden
- The Center for Genome Architecture and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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5
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Wilkin S, Lanigan LT, Montes N, Sharma M, Avanzi C, Sejdiu D, Majander K, Pfrengle S, Chiang Y, Kunz L, Dittmann A, Rühli F, Singh P, Coll MF, Collins MJ, Taurozzi AJ, Schuenemann VJ. Sequential trypsin and ProAlanase digestions unearth immunological protein biomarkers shrouded by skeletal collagen. iScience 2024; 27:109663. [PMID: 38655200 PMCID: PMC11035369 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the efficacy of proteomic analysis of human remains to identify active infections in the past through the detection of pathogens and the host response to infection. We advance leprosy as a case study due to the sequestering of sufferers in leprosaria and the suggestive skeletal lesions that can result from the disease. Here we present a sequential enzyme extraction protocol, using trypsin followed by ProAlanase, to reduce the abundance of collagen peptides and in so doing increase the detection of non-collagenous proteins. Through our study of five individuals from an 11th to 18th century leprosarium, as well as four from a contemporaneous non-leprosy associated cemetery in Barcelona, we show that samples from 2 out of 5 leprosarium individuals extracted with the sequential digestion methodology contain numerous host immune proteins associated with modern leprosy. In contrast, individuals from the non-leprosy associated cemetery and all samples extracted with a trypsin-only protocol did not. Through this study, we advance a palaeoproteomic methodology to gain insights into the health of archaeological individuals and take a step toward a proteomics-based method to study immune responses in past populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shevan Wilkin
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Liam T. Lanigan
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nuria Montes
- Unitat d'Antropologia Biològica, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mukul Sharma
- Microbial Pathogenesis and Genomics, National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur, MP, India
| | - Charlotte Avanzi
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Donikë Sejdiu
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Kerttu Majander
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Saskia Pfrengle
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Yun Chiang
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laura Kunz
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Antje Dittmann
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Frank Rühli
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Pushpendra Singh
- Microbial Pathogenesis and Genomics, National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur, MP, India
- Model Rural Health Research Unit, Badoni, Datia (MP), India
| | | | - Matthew J. Collins
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, West Tower, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
| | - Alberto J. Taurozzi
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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6
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Bergfeldt N, Kırdök E, Oskolkov N, Mirabello C, Unneberg P, Malmström H, Fraser M, Sanchez-Quinto F, Jorgensen R, Skar B, Lidén K, Jakobsson M, Storå J, Götherström A. Identification of microbial pathogens in Neolithic Scandinavian humans. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5630. [PMID: 38453993 PMCID: PMC10920878 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56096-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
With the Neolithic transition, human lifestyle shifted from hunting and gathering to farming. This change altered subsistence patterns, cultural expression, and population structures as shown by the archaeological/zooarchaeological record, as well as by stable isotope and ancient DNA data. Here, we used metagenomic data to analyse if the transitions also impacted the microbiome composition in 25 Mesolithic and Neolithic hunter-gatherers and 13 Neolithic farmers from several Scandinavian Stone Age cultural contexts. Salmonella enterica, a bacterium that may have been the cause of death for the infected individuals, was found in two Neolithic samples from Battle Axe culture contexts. Several species of the bacterial genus Yersinia were found in Neolithic individuals from Funnel Beaker culture contexts as well as from later Neolithic context. Transmission of e.g. Y. enterocolitica may have been facilitated by the denser populations in agricultural contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Bergfeldt
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Emrah Kırdök
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey
| | - Nikolay Oskolkov
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biology, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Claudio Mirabello
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Per Unneberg
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Helena Malmström
- Human Evolution, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Magdalena Fraser
- Human Evolution, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Roger Jorgensen
- Tromsø University Museum, University of Tromsø-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Birgitte Skar
- Department of Archaeology and Cultural History, NTNU University Museum, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kerstin Lidén
- Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mattias Jakobsson
- Human Evolution, Department of Organism Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jan Storå
- Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anders Götherström
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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7
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Eisenhofer R, Wright S, Weyrich L. Benchmarking a targeted 16S ribosomal RNA gene enrichment approach to reconstruct ancient microbial communities. PeerJ 2024; 12:e16770. [PMID: 38440408 PMCID: PMC10911074 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The taxonomic characterization of ancient microbiomes is a key step in the rapidly growing field of paleomicrobiology. While PCR amplification of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene is a widely used technique in modern microbiota studies, this method has systematic biases when applied to ancient microbial DNA. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing has proven to be the most effective method in reconstructing taxonomic profiles of ancient dental calculus samples. Nevertheless, shotgun sequencing approaches come with inherent limitations that could be addressed through hybridization enrichment capture. When employed together, shotgun sequencing and hybridization capture have the potential to enhance the characterization of ancient microbial communities. Here, we develop, test, and apply a hybridization enrichment capture technique to selectively target 16S rRNA gene fragments from the libraries of ancient dental calculus samples generated with shotgun techniques. We simulated data sets generated from hybridization enrichment capture, indicating that taxonomic identification of fragmented and damaged 16S rRNA gene sequences was feasible. Applying this enrichment approach to 15 previously published ancient calculus samples, we observed a 334-fold increase of ancient 16S rRNA gene fragments in the enriched samples when compared to unenriched libraries. Our results suggest that 16S hybridization capture is less prone to the effects of background contamination than 16S rRNA amplification, yielding a higher percentage of on-target recovery. While our enrichment technique detected low abundant and rare taxa within a given sample, these assignments may not achieve the same level of specificity as those achieved by unenriched methods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sterling Wright
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Laura Weyrich
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
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8
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Sitsel O, Wang Z, Janning P, Kroczek L, Wagner T, Raunser S. Yersinia entomophaga Tc toxin is released by T10SS-dependent lysis of specialized cell subpopulations. Nat Microbiol 2024; 9:390-404. [PMID: 38238469 PMCID: PMC10847048 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01571-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Disease-causing bacteria secrete numerous toxins to invade and subjugate their hosts. Unlike many smaller toxins, the secretion machinery of most large toxins remains enigmatic. By combining genomic editing, proteomic profiling and cryo-electron tomography of the insect pathogen Yersinia entomophaga, we demonstrate that a specialized subset of these cells produces a complex toxin cocktail, including the nearly ribosome-sized Tc toxin YenTc, which is subsequently exported by controlled cell lysis using a transcriptionally coupled, pH-dependent type 10 secretion system (T10SS). Our results dissect the Tc toxin export process by a T10SS, identifying that T10SSs operate via a previously unknown lytic mode of action and establishing them as crucial players in the size-insensitive release of cytoplasmically folded toxins. With T10SSs directly embedded in Tc toxin operons of major pathogens, we anticipate that our findings may model an important aspect of pathogenesis in bacteria with substantial impact on agriculture and healthcare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg Sitsel
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Zhexin Wang
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Petra Janning
- Department of Chemical Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Lara Kroczek
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Thorsten Wagner
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stefan Raunser
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany.
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9
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Forshaw R. Windows into the past: recent scientific techniques in dental analysis. Br Dent J 2024; 236:205-211. [PMID: 38332093 PMCID: PMC10853062 DOI: 10.1038/s41415-024-7053-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Teeth are the hardest and most chemically stable tissues in the body, are well-preserved in archaeological remains and, being resistant to decomposition in the soil, survive long after their supporting structures have deteriorated. It has long been recognised that visual and radiographic examination of teeth can provide considerable information relating to the lifestyle of an individual. This paper examines the latest scientific approaches that have become available to investigate recent and ancient teeth. These techniques include DNA analysis, which can be used to determine the sex of an individual, indicate familial relationships, study population movements, provide phylogenetic information and identify the presence of disease pathogens. A stable isotopic approach can shed light on aspects of diet and mobility and even research climate change. Proteomic analysis of ancient dental calculus can reveal specific information about individual diets. Synchrotron microcomputed tomography is a non-invasive technique which can be used to visualise physiological impactful events, such as parturition, menopause and diseases in cementum microstructure - these being displayed as aberrant growth lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Forshaw
- KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
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10
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Nishimura L, Tanino A, Ajimoto M, Katsumura T, Ogawa M, Koganebuchi K, Waku D, Kumagai M, Sugimoto R, Nakaoka H, Oota H, Inoue I. Metagenomic analyses of 7000 to 5500 years old coprolites excavated from the Torihama shell-mound site in the Japanese archipelago. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0295924. [PMID: 38265980 PMCID: PMC10807776 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295924] [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: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Coprolites contain various kinds of ancient DNAs derived from gut micro-organisms, viruses, and foods, which can help to determine the gut environment of ancient peoples. Their genomic information should be helpful in elucidating the interaction between hosts and microbes for thousands of years, as well as characterizing the dietary behaviors of ancient people. We performed shotgun metagenomic sequencing on four coprolites excavated from the Torihama shell-mound site in the Japanese archipelago. The coprolites were found in the layers of the Early Jomon period, corresponding stratigraphically to 7000 to 5500 years ago. After shotgun sequencing, we found that a significant number of reads showed homology with known gut microbe, viruses, and food genomes typically found in the feces of modern humans. We detected reads derived from several types of phages and their host bacteria simultaneously, suggesting the coexistence of viruses and their hosts. The food genomes provide biological evidence for the dietary behavior of the Jomon people, consistent with previous archaeological findings. These results indicate that ancient genomic analysis of coprolites is useful for understanding the gut environment and lifestyle of ancient peoples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Nishimura
- Human Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
- Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Akio Tanino
- Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Takafumi Katsumura
- Department of Anatomy, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Motoyuki Ogawa
- Department of Anatomy, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kae Koganebuchi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daisuke Waku
- Department of International Agricultural Development, Faculty of International Agriculture and Food Studies, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masahiko Kumagai
- Research Center for Advanced Analysis, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Ryota Sugimoto
- Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Nakaoka
- Department of Cancer Genome Research, Sasaki Institute, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroki Oota
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ituro Inoue
- Human Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
- Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan
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11
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Price SL, Oakes RS, Gonzalez RJ, Edwards C, Brady A, DeMarco JK, von Andrian UH, Jewell CM, Lawrenz MB. Microneedle array delivery of Yersinia pestis recapitulates bubonic plague. iScience 2024; 27:108600. [PMID: 38179062 PMCID: PMC10765063 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Fleas transmit Yersinia pestis directly within the dermis of mammals to cause bubonic plague. Syringe-mediated inoculation is widely used to recapitulate bubonic plague and study Y. pestis pathogenesis. However, intradermal needle inoculation is tedious, error prone, and poses a significant safety risk for laboratorians. Microneedle arrays (MNAs) are micron-scale polymeric structures that deliver materials to the dermis, while minimizing the risk of needle sticks. We demonstrated that MNA inoculation is a viable strategy to recapitulate bubonic plague and study bacterial virulence by defining the parameters needed to establish a lethal infection in the mouse model and characterizing the course of infection using live-animal optical imaging. Using MNAs, we also demonstrated that Y. pestis must overcome calprotectin-mediated zinc restriction within the dermis and dermal delivery of an attenuated mutant has vaccine potential. Together, these data demonstrate that MNAs are a safe alternative to study Y. pestis pathogenesis in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Price
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Robert S. Oakes
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Rodrigo J. Gonzalez
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Camilla Edwards
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Amanda Brady
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Jennifer K. DeMarco
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Ulrich H. von Andrian
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Christopher M. Jewell
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Matthew B. Lawrenz
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
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12
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Bennasar-Figueras A. The Natural and Clinical History of Plague: From the Ancient Pandemics to Modern Insights. Microorganisms 2024; 12:146. [PMID: 38257973 PMCID: PMC10818976 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12010146] [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: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The human pathogen Yersinia pestis is responsible for bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague. A deeply comprehensive overview of its historical context, bacteriological characteristics, genomic analysis based on ancient DNA (aDNA) and modern strains, and its impact on historical and actual human populations, is explored. The results from multiple studies have been synthesized to investigate the origins of plague, its transmission, and effects on different populations. Additionally, molecular interactions of Y. pestis, from its evolutionary origins to its adaptation to flea-born transmission, and its impact on human and wild populations are considered. The characteristic combinations of aDNA patterns, which plays a decisive role in the reconstruction and analysis of ancient genomes, are reviewed. Bioinformatics is fundamental in identifying specific Y. pestis lineages, and automated pipelines are among the valuable tools in implementing such studies. Plague, which remains among human history's most lethal infectious diseases, but also other zoonotic diseases, requires the continuous investigation of plague topics. This can be achieved by improving molecular and genetic screening of animal populations, identifying ecological and social determinants of outbreaks, increasing interdisciplinary collaborations among scientists and public healthcare providers, and continued research into the characterization, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoni Bennasar-Figueras
- Microbiologia—Departament de Biologia, Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Campus UIB, Carretera de Valldemossa, Km 7.5, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain; ; Tel.: +34-971172778
- Facultat de Medicina, Hospital Universitari Son Espases (HUSE), Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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13
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Rayfield KM, Mychajliw AM, Singleton RR, Sholts SB, Hofman CA. Uncovering the Holocene roots of contemporary disease-scapes: bringing archaeology into One Health. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230525. [PMID: 38052246 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The accelerating pace of emerging zoonotic diseases in the twenty-first century has motivated cross-disciplinary collaboration on One Health approaches, combining microbiology, veterinary and environmental sciences, and epidemiology for outbreak prevention and mitigation. Such outbreaks are often caused by spillovers attributed to human activities that encroach on wildlife habitats and ecosystems, such as land use change, industrialized food production, urbanization and animal trade. While the origin of anthropogenic effects on animal ecology and biogeography can be traced to the Late Pleistocene, the archaeological record-a long-term archive of human-animal-environmental interactions-has largely been untapped in these One Health approaches, thus limiting our understanding of these dynamics over time. In this review, we examine how humans, as niche constructors, have facilitated new host species and 'disease-scapes' from the Late Pleistocene to the Anthropocene, by viewing zooarchaeological, bioarchaeological and palaeoecological data with a One Health perspective. We also highlight how new biomolecular tools and advances in the '-omics' can be holistically coupled with archaeological and palaeoecological reconstructions in the service of studying zoonotic disease emergence and re-emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen M Rayfield
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-0390, USA
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Alexis M Mychajliw
- Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-0390, USA
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Biology & Program in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753-6203, USA
| | - Robin R Singleton
- Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-0390, USA
| | - Sabrina B Sholts
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Courtney A Hofman
- Laboratories of Molecular Anthropology & Microbiome Research, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-0390, USA
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
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14
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Haq FU, Abduljaleel Y, Ahmad I. Effect of temperature on fast transmission of COVID-19 in low per capita GDP Asian countries. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21165. [PMID: 38036656 PMCID: PMC10689760 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48587-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
An abrupt outbreak of COVID-19 caused enormous global concerns. Although all countries around the world are severely affected, developing Asian countries faced more difficulties due to their low per capita GDP. The temperature was considered a leading variable in spreading viral diseases, including COVID-19. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between temperature and the spread of COVID-19, with a focus on developing Asian countries. In a few Asian countries, COVID-19 spread rapidly in the summer, while in some countries, there is an increase in winter. A linear correlation was developed between COVID-19 cases/deaths and temperature for the selected countries, which were very weak. A coefficient of determination of 0.334 and 0.365 was observed between cases and average monthly max/min temperatures. A correlation of R2 = 0.307 and 0.382 was found between deaths and average max/min monthly temperatures, respectively. There is no scientific reason to assume that COVID-19 is more dominant at low than high temperatures. Therefore, it is believed that the results may be helpful for the health department and decision-makers to understand the fast spread of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faraz Ul Haq
- Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, 54890, Pakistan.
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA.
| | - Yasir Abduljaleel
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, Richland, WA, 99354, USA
| | - Ijaz Ahmad
- Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, 54890, Pakistan
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15
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Franklin ER, Mitchell PD, Robb J. The Black Death in Hereford, England: A demographic analysis of the Cathedral 14th-century plague mass graves and associated parish cemetery. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:452-466. [PMID: 37650443 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study explores the paleoepidemiology of the Black Death (1348-52 AD) mass graves from Hereford, England, via osteological analysis. Hereford plague mortality is evaluated in the local context of the medieval city and examined alongside other Black Death burials. METHODS The Hereford Cathedral site includes mass graves relating to the Black Death and a 12th-16th century parish cemetery. In total, 177 adult skeletons were analyzed macroscopically: 73 from the mass graves and 104 from the parish cemetery. Skeletal age-at-death was assessed using transition analysis, and sex and stress markers were analyzed. RESULTS The age-at-death distributions for the mass graves and parish cemetery were significantly different (p = 0.0496). Within the mass graves, young adults (15-24 years) were substantially over-represented, and mortality peaked at 25-34 years. From 35 years of age onwards, there was little variation in the mortality profiles for the mass graves and parish cemetery. Males and females had similar representation across burial types. Linear enamel hypoplasia was more prevalent within the mass graves (p = 0.0340) whereas cribra orbitalia and tibial periostitis were underrepresented. CONCLUSIONS Mortality within the Hereford mass graves peaked at a slightly older age than is seen within plague burials from London, but the overall profiles are similar. This demonstrates that young adults were disproportionately at risk of dying from plague compared with other age groups. Our findings regarding stress markers may indicate that enamel hypoplasia is more strongly associated with vulnerability to plague than cribra orbitalia or tibial periostitis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Piers D Mitchell
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - John Robb
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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16
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Pusadkar V, Azad RK. Benchmarking Metagenomic Classifiers on Simulated Ancient and Modern Metagenomic Data. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2478. [PMID: 37894136 PMCID: PMC10609333 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102478] [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: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Taxonomic profiling of ancient metagenomic samples is challenging due to the accumulation of specific damage patterns on DNA over time. Although a number of methods for metagenome profiling have been developed, most of them have been assessed on modern metagenomes or simulated metagenomes mimicking modern metagenomes. Further, a comparative assessment of metagenome profilers on simulated metagenomes representing a spectrum of degradation depth, from the extremity of ancient (most degraded) to current or modern (not degraded) metagenomes, has not yet been performed. To understand the strengths and weaknesses of different metagenome profilers, we performed their comprehensive evaluation on simulated metagenomes representing human dental calculus microbiome, with the level of DNA damage successively raised to mimic modern to ancient metagenomes. All classes of profilers, namely, DNA-to-DNA, DNA-to-protein, and DNA-to-marker comparison-based profilers were evaluated on metagenomes with varying levels of damage simulating deamination, fragmentation, and contamination. Our results revealed that, compared to deamination and fragmentation, human and environmental contamination of ancient DNA (with modern DNA) has the most pronounced effect on the performance of each profiler. Further, the DNA-to-DNA (e.g., Kraken2, Bracken) and DNA-to-marker (e.g., MetaPhlAn4) based profiling approaches showed complementary strengths, which can be leveraged to elevate the state-of-the-art of ancient metagenome profiling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaidehi Pusadkar
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA;
- BioDiscovery Institute, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
| | - Rajeev K. Azad
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA;
- BioDiscovery Institute, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
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17
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Hodgins HP, Chen P, Lobb B, Wei X, Tremblay BJM, Mansfield MJ, Lee VCY, Lee PG, Coffin J, Duggan AT, Dolphin AE, Renaud G, Dong M, Doxey AC. Ancient Clostridium DNA and variants of tetanus neurotoxins associated with human archaeological remains. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5475. [PMID: 37673908 PMCID: PMC10482840 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41174-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The analysis of microbial genomes from human archaeological samples offers a historic snapshot of ancient pathogens and provides insights into the origins of modern infectious diseases. Here, we analyze metagenomic datasets from 38 human archaeological samples and identify bacterial genomic sequences related to modern-day Clostridium tetani, which produces the tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) and causes the disease tetanus. These genomic assemblies had varying levels of completeness, and a subset of them displayed hallmarks of ancient DNA damage. Phylogenetic analyses revealed known C. tetani clades as well as potentially new Clostridium lineages closely related to C. tetani. The genomic assemblies encode 13 TeNT variants with unique substitution profiles, including a subgroup of TeNT variants found exclusively in ancient samples from South America. We experimentally tested a TeNT variant selected from an ancient Chilean mummy sample and found that it induced tetanus muscle paralysis in mice, with potency comparable to modern TeNT. Thus, our ancient DNA analysis identifies DNA from neurotoxigenic C. tetani in archaeological human samples, and a novel variant of TeNT that can cause disease in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harold P Hodgins
- Department of Biology and the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Pengsheng Chen
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Surgery and Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Briallen Lobb
- Department of Biology and the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Xin Wei
- Department of Biology and the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Benjamin J M Tremblay
- Department of Biology and the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Michael J Mansfield
- Genomics and Regulatory Systems Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Victoria C Y Lee
- Department of Biology and the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Pyung-Gang Lee
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Surgery and Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Coffin
- Department of Anthropology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Ana T Duggan
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Alexis E Dolphin
- Department of Anthropology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Gabriel Renaud
- Department of Health Technology, Section of Bioinformatics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Min Dong
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Surgery and Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Andrew C Doxey
- Department of Biology and the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
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18
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Tambuzzi S, Maciocco F, Gentile G, Boracchi M, Bailo P, Marchesi M, Zoja R. Applications of microbiology to different forensic scenarios - A narrative review. J Forensic Leg Med 2023; 98:102560. [PMID: 37451142 DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2023.102560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
In contrast to other forensic disciplines, forensic microbiology is still too often considered a "side activity" and is not able to make a real and concrete contribution to forensic investigations. Indeed, the various application aspects of this discipline still remain a niche activity and, as a result, microbiological investigations are often omitted or only approximated, in part due to poor report in the literature. However, in certain situations, forensic microbiology can prove to be extremely effective, if not crucial, when all other disciplines fail. Precisely because microorganisms can represent forensic evidence, in this narrative review all the major pathological forensic applications described in the literature have been presented. The goal of our review is to highlight the versatility and transversality of microbiology in forensic science and to provide a comprehensive source of literature to refer to when needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Tambuzzi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Francesca Maciocco
- Azienda Ospedaliera "San Carlo Borromeo", Servizio di Immunoematologia e Medicina Trasfusionale (SIMT), Via Pio II°, n. 3, Milano, Italy
| | - Guendalina Gentile
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.
| | - Michele Boracchi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Marchesi
- ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Piazza OMS 1, 24127, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Riccardo Zoja
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, 20133, Milano, Italy
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19
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Parker CE, Hiss AN, Spyrou MA, Neumann GU, Slavin P, Nelson EA, Nagel S, Dalidowski X, Friederich S, Krause J, Herbig A, Haak W, Bos KI. 14th century Yersinia pestis genomes support emergence of pestis secunda within Europe. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011404. [PMID: 37463152 PMCID: PMC10414589 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011404] [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: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Pestis secunda (1356-1366 CE) is the first of a series of plague outbreaks in Europe that followed the Black Death (1346-1353 CE). Collectively this period is called the Second Pandemic. From a genomic perspective, the majority of post-Black Death strains of Yersinia pestis thus far identified in Europe display diversity accumulated over a period of centuries that form a terminal sub-branch of the Y. pestis phylogeny. It has been debated if these strains arose from local evolution of Y. pestis or if the disease was repeatedly reintroduced from an external source. Plague lineages descended from the pestis secunda, however, are thought to have persisted in non-human reservoirs outside Europe, where they eventually gave rise to the Third Pandemic (19th and 20th centuries). Resolution of competing hypotheses on the origins of the many post-Black Death outbreaks has been hindered in part by the low representation of Y. pestis genomes in archaeological specimens, especially for the pestis secunda. Here we report on five individuals from Germany that were infected with lineages of plague associated with the pestis secunda. For the two genomes of high coverage, one groups within the known diversity of genotypes associated with the pestis secunda, while the second carries an ancestral genotype that places it earlier. Through consideration of historical sources that explore first documentation of the pandemic in today's Central Germany, we argue that these data provide robust evidence to support a post-Black Death evolution of the pathogen within Europe rather than a re-introduction from outside. Additionally, we demonstrate retrievability of Y. pestis DNA in post-cranial remains and highlight the importance of hypothesis-free pathogen screening approaches in evaluations of archaeological samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody E. Parker
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Alina N. Hiss
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maria A. Spyrou
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Achaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gunnar U. Neumann
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Philip Slavin
- Division of History, Heritage and Politics, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sarah Nagel
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xandra Dalidowski
- Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Susanne Friederich
- Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alexander Herbig
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kirsten I. Bos
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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20
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Malireddi RS, Bynigeri RR, Mall R, Nadendla EK, Connelly JP, Pruett-Miller SM, Kanneganti TD. Whole-genome CRISPR screen identifies RAVER1 as a key regulator of RIPK1-mediated inflammatory cell death, PANoptosis. iScience 2023; 26:106938. [PMID: 37324531 PMCID: PMC10265528 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) is a central regulator of innate immunity, cell death, inflammation, and cellular homeostasis. Therefore, many pathogens carry TAK1 inhibitors (TAK1i). As a host strategy to counteract this, inhibition or deletion of TAK1 induces spontaneous inflammatory cell death, PANoptosis, through the RIPK1-PANoptosome complex, containing the NLRP3 inflammasome and caspase-8/FADD/RIPK3 as integral components; however, PANoptosis also promotes pathological inflammation. Therefore, understanding molecular mechanisms that regulate TAK1i-induced cell death is essential. Here, we report a genome-wide CRISPR screen in macrophages that identified TAK1i-induced cell death regulators, including polypyrimidine tract-binding (PTB) protein 1 (PTBP1), a known regulator of RIPK1, and a previously unknown regulator RAVER1. RAVER1 blocked alternative splicing of Ripk1, and its genetic depletion inhibited TAK1i-induced, RIPK1-mediated inflammasome activation and PANoptosis. Overall, our CRISPR screen identified several positive regulators of PANoptosis. Moreover, our study highlights the utility of genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens in myeloid cells for comprehensive characterization of complex cell death pathways to discover therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ratnakar R. Bynigeri
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Raghvendra Mall
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Eswar Kumar Nadendla
- Department of Immunology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Jon P. Connelly
- Center for Advanced Genome Engineering (CAGE), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Shondra M. Pruett-Miller
- Center for Advanced Genome Engineering (CAGE), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
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21
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Swali P, Schulting R, Gilardet A, Kelly M, Anastasiadou K, Glocke I, McCabe J, Williams M, Audsley T, Loe L, Fernández-Crespo T, Ordoño J, Walker D, Clare T, Cook G, Hodkinson I, Simpson M, Read S, Davy T, Silva M, Hajdinjak M, Bergström A, Booth T, Skoglund P. Yersinia pestis genomes reveal plague in Britain 4000 years ago. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2930. [PMID: 37253742 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38393-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Extinct lineages of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the plague, have been identified in several individuals from Eurasia between 5000 and 2500 years before present (BP). One of these, termed the 'LNBA lineage' (Late Neolithic and Bronze Age), has been suggested to have spread into Europe with human groups expanding from the Eurasian steppe. Here, we show that the LNBA plague was spread to Europe's northwestern periphery by sequencing three Yersinia pestis genomes from Britain, all dating to ~4000 cal BP. Two individuals were from an unusual mass burial context in Charterhouse Warren, Somerset, and one individual was from a single burial under a ring cairn monument in Levens, Cumbria. To our knowledge, this represents the earliest evidence of LNBA plague in Britain documented to date. All three British Yersinia pestis genomes belong to a sublineage previously observed in Bronze Age individuals from Central Europe that had lost the putative virulence factor yapC. This sublineage is later found in Eastern Asia ~3200 cal BP. While the severity of the disease is currently unclear, the wide geographic distribution within a few centuries suggests substantial transmissibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Swali
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
| | | | | | - Monica Kelly
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | | | - Isabelle Glocke
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Jesse McCabe
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Mia Williams
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | | | - Louise Loe
- Oxford Archaeology, Osney Mead, Oxford, UK
| | - Teresa Fernández-Crespo
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Préhistoire Europe Afrique-UMR 7269, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Arqueología, Antropología Social y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Javier Ordoño
- Department of Archaeology and New Technologies, Arkikus, Spain
| | | | - Tom Clare
- Levens Local History Group, Levens, Cumbria, UK
| | - Geoff Cook
- Levens Local History Group, Levens, Cumbria, UK
| | - Ian Hodkinson
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | | | | | - Tom Davy
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Marina Silva
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Mateja Hajdinjak
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics and Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anders Bergström
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Thomas Booth
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
| | - Pontus Skoglund
- Ancient Genomics Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
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22
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Clavel P, Louis L, Sarkissian CD, Thèves C, Gillet C, Chauvey L, Tressières G, Schiavinato S, Calvière-Tonasso L, Telmon N, Clavel B, Jonvel R, Tzortzis S, Bouniol L, Fémolant JM, Klunk J, Poinar H, Signoli M, Costedoat C, Spyrou MA, Seguin-Orlando A, Orlando L. Improving the extraction of ancient Yersinia pestis genomes from the dental pulp. iScience 2023; 26:106787. [PMID: 37250315 PMCID: PMC10214834 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient DNA preserved in the dental pulp offers the opportunity to characterize the genome of some of the deadliest pathogens in human history. However, while DNA capture technologies help, focus sequencing efforts, and therefore, reduce experimental costs, the recovery of ancient pathogen DNA remains challenging. Here, we tracked the kinetics of ancient Yersinia pestis DNA release in solution during a pre-digestion of the dental pulp. We found that most of the ancient Y. pestis DNA is released within 60 min at 37°C in our experimental conditions. We recommend a simple pre-digestion as an economical procedure to obtain extracts enriched in ancient pathogen DNA, as longer digestion times release other types of templates, including host DNA. Combining this procedure with DNA capture, we characterized the genome sequences of 12 ancient Y. pestis bacteria from France dating to the second pandemic outbreaks of the 17th and 18th centuries Common Era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Clavel
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Lexane Louis
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Clio Der Sarkissian
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Catherine Thèves
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Claudia Gillet
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Lorelei Chauvey
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Gaétan Tressières
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Stéphanie Schiavinato
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Laure Calvière-Tonasso
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Norbert Telmon
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Benoît Clavel
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), CNRS-UMR7209, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, 55 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Richard Jonvel
- Amiens Métropole Service Archéologie Préventive, 2 rue Colbert, 80000 Amiens, France
| | - Stéfan Tzortzis
- Service Régional de l’Archéologie, 21 allée Claude Forbin, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Laetitia Bouniol
- Service archéologique de la ville de Beauvais, 1 rue Desgroux, 60021 Beauvais, France
| | - Jean-Marc Fémolant
- Service archéologique de la ville de Beauvais, 1 rue Desgroux, 60021 Beauvais, France
| | | | - Hendrik Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology, Biology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S, 4L9, Canada
- Humans and the Microbiome Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Michel Signoli
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, EFS, ADES, 13005 Marseille, France
| | | | - Maria A. Spyrou
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andaine Seguin-Orlando
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Ludovic Orlando
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
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23
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Klapper M, Hübner A, Ibrahim A, Wasmuth I, Borry M, Haensch VG, Zhang S, Al-Jammal WK, Suma H, Fellows Yates JA, Frangenberg J, Velsko IM, Chowdhury S, Herbst R, Bratovanov EV, Dahse HM, Horch T, Hertweck C, González Morales MR, Straus LG, Vilotijevic I, Warinner C, Stallforth P. Natural products from reconstructed bacterial genomes of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Science 2023; 380:619-624. [PMID: 37141315 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf5300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Major advances over the past decade in the field of ancient DNA are providing access to past paleogenomic diversity, but the diverse functions and biosynthetic capabilities of this growing paleome remain largely elusive. Here, we investigated the dental calculus of 12 Neanderthals and 52 anatomically modern humans spanning 100 kya to the present and reconstructed 459 bacterial metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). We identified a biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) shared by seven Middle and Upper Paleolithic individuals that allows for the heterologous production of a class of previously unknown metabolites we name paleofurans. This paleobiotechnological approach demonstrates that viable biosynthetic machinery can be produced from the preserved genetic material of ancient organisms, allowing access to natural products from the Pleistocene and providing a promising area for natural product exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Klapper
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Alexander Hübner
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Associated Research Group of Archaeogenetics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Anan Ibrahim
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Ina Wasmuth
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Maxime Borry
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Veit G Haensch
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Shuaibing Zhang
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Walid K Al-Jammal
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Harikumar Suma
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - James A Fellows Yates
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Associated Research Group of Archaeogenetics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jasmin Frangenberg
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Irina M Velsko
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Somak Chowdhury
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Rosa Herbst
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Evgeni V Bratovanov
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Hans-Martin Dahse
- Department of Infection Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Therese Horch
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Hertweck
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Manuel Ramon González Morales
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria, Universidad de Cantabria, 39071 Santander, Spain
| | - Lawrence Guy Straus
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
- Grupo I+D+i EvoAdapta, Departmento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain
| | - Ivan Vilotijevic
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Christina Warinner
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Associated Research Group of Archaeogenetics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Pierre Stallforth
- Department of Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
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24
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de-Dios T, Scheib CL, Houldcroft CJ. An Adagio for Viruses, Played Out on Ancient DNA. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad047. [PMID: 36930529 PMCID: PMC10063219 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies of ancient DNA have transformed our understanding of human evolution. Paleogenomics can also reveal historic and prehistoric agents of disease, including endemic, epidemic, and pandemic pathogens. Viruses-and in particular those with single- or double-stranded DNA genomes-are an important part of the paleogenomic revolution, preserving within some remains or environmental samples for tens of thousands of years. The results of these studies capture the public imagination, as well as giving scientists a unique perspective on some of the more slowly evolving viruses which cause disease. In this review, we revisit the first studies of historical virus genetic material in the 1990s, through to the genomic revolution of recent years. We look at how paleogenomics works for viral pathogens, such as the need for careful precautions against modern contamination and robust computational pipelines to identify and analyze authenticated viral sequences. We discuss the insights into virus evolution which have been gained through paleogenomics, concentrating on three DNA viruses in particular: parvovirus B19, herpes simplex virus 1, and smallpox. As we consider recent worldwide transmission of monkeypox and synthetic biology tools that allow the potential reconstruction of extinct viruses, we show that studying historical and ancient virus evolution has never been more topical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni de-Dios
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia
| | - Christiana L Scheib
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia
- St. John's College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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25
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Kolodziejek AM, Bearden SW, Maes S, Montenieri JM, Gage KL, Hovde CJ, Minnich SA. Yersinia pestis Δ ail Mutants Are Not Susceptible to Human Complement Bactericidal Activity in the Flea. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0124422. [PMID: 36744930 PMCID: PMC9973026 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01244-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Ail confers serum resistance in humans and is a critical virulence factor of Y. pestis, the causative agent of plague. Here, the contribution of Ail for Y. pestis survival in the flea vector was examined. Rat or human but not mouse sera were bactericidal against a Y. pestis Δail mutant at 28°C in vitro. Complement components deposited rapidly on the Y. pestis surface as measured by immunofluorescent microscopy. Ail reduced the amount of active C3b on the Y. pestis surface. Human sera retained bactericidal activity against a Y. pestis Δail mutant in the presence of mouse sera. However, in the flea vector, the serum protective properties of Ail were not required. Flea colonization studies using murine sera and Y. pestis KIM6+ wild type, a Δail mutant, and the Δail/ail+ control showed no differences in bacterial prevalence or numbers during the early stage of flea colonization. Similarly, flea studies with human blood showed Ail was not required for serum resistance. Finally, a variant of Ail (AilF100V E108_S109insS) from a human serum-sensitive Y. pestis subsp. microtus bv. Caucasica 1146 conferred resistance to human complement when expressed in the Y. pestis KIM6+ Δail mutant. This indicated that Ail activity was somehow blocked, most likely by lipooligosaccharide, in this serum sensitive strain. IMPORTANCE This work contributes to our understanding of how highly virulent Y. pestis evolved from its innocuous enteric predecessor. Among identified virulence factors is the attachment invasion locus protein, Ail, that is required to protect Y. pestis from serum complement in all mammals tested except mice. Murine sera is not bactericidal. In this study, we asked, is bactericidal sera from humans active in Y. pestis colonized fleas? We found it was not. The importance of this observation is that it identifies a protective niche for the growth of serum sensitive and nonsensitive Y. pestis strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M. Kolodziejek
- Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Scott W. Bearden
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Sarah Maes
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - John M. Montenieri
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kenneth L. Gage
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Carolyn J. Hovde
- Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Scott A. Minnich
- Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA
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26
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Dalal V, Pasupuleti N, Chaubey G, Rai N, Shinde V. Advancements and Challenges in Ancient DNA Research: Bridging the Global North-South Divide. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:479. [PMID: 36833406 PMCID: PMC9956214 DOI: 10.3390/genes14020479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient DNA (aDNA) research first began in 1984 and ever since has greatly expanded our understanding of evolution and migration. Today, aDNA analysis is used to solve various puzzles about the origin of mankind, migration patterns, and the spread of infectious diseases. The incredible findings ranging from identifying the new branches within the human family to studying the genomes of extinct flora and fauna have caught the world by surprise in recent times. However, a closer look at these published results points out a clear Global North and Global South divide. Therefore, through this research, we aim to emphasize encouraging better collaborative opportunities and technology transfer to support researchers in the Global South. Further, the present research also focuses on expanding the scope of the ongoing conversation in the field of aDNA by reporting relevant literature published around the world and discussing the advancements and challenges in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasundhra Dalal
- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad 500007, Telangana, India
| | | | - Gyaneshwer Chaubey
- Cytogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Niraj Rai
- Ancient DNA Lab, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow 226007, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vasant Shinde
- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad 500007, Telangana, India
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27
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Min-Shan Ko A. The 2022 nobel prize in physiology or medicine awarded for the decoding of the complete ancient human genome. Biomed J 2023; 46:100584. [PMID: 36796758 DOI: 10.1016/j.bj.2023.02.004] [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: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the publication of the first ancient DNA sequence in 1984, experimental methods used to recover ancient DNA have advanced greatly, illuminating previously unknown branches of the human family tree and opening up several promising new avenues for future studies of human evolution. The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, for his work on ancient DNA and human evolution. On his first day back at work, he was thrown in the pond as part of his institute's tradition of celebrating award winners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Min-Shan Ko
- Department and Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan; Cardiovascular Department, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
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28
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Gancz AS, Weyrich LS. Studying ancient human oral microbiomes could yield insights into the evolutionary history of noncommunicable diseases. F1000Res 2023; 12:109. [PMID: 37065506 PMCID: PMC10090864 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.129036.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have played a critical role in shaping human evolution and societies. Despite the exceptional impact of NCDs economically and socially, little is known about the prevalence or impact of these diseases in the past as most do not leave distinguishing features on the human skeleton and are not directly associated with unique pathogens. The inability to identify NCDs in antiquity precludes researchers from investigating how changes in diet, lifestyle, and environments modulate NCD risks in specific populations and from linking evolutionary processes to modern health patterns and disparities. In this review, we highlight how recent advances in ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing and analytical methodologies may now make it possible to reconstruct NCD-related oral microbiome traits in past populations, thereby providing the first proxies for ancient NCD risk. First, we review the direct and indirect associations between modern oral microbiomes and NCDs, specifically cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease. We then discuss how oral microbiome features associated with NCDs in modern populations may be used to identify previously unstudied sources of morbidity and mortality differences in ancient groups. Finally, we conclude with an outline of the challenges and limitations of employing this approach, as well as how they might be circumvented. While significant experimental work is needed to verify that ancient oral microbiome markers are indeed associated with quantifiable health and survivorship outcomes, this new approach is a promising path forward for evolutionary health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail S Gancz
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Laura S Weyrich
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
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29
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Plagued by a cryptic clock: insight and issues from the global phylogeny of Yersinia pestis. Commun Biol 2023; 6:23. [PMID: 36658311 PMCID: PMC9852431 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04394-6] [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: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Plague has an enigmatic history as a zoonotic pathogen. This infectious disease will unexpectedly appear in human populations and disappear just as suddenly. As a result, a long-standing line of inquiry has been to estimate when and where plague appeared in the past. However, there have been significant disparities between phylogenetic studies of the causative bacterium, Yersinia pestis, regarding the timing and geographic origins of its reemergence. Here, we curate and contextualize an updated phylogeny of Y. pestis using 601 genome sequences sampled globally. Through a detailed Bayesian evaluation of temporal signal in subsets of these data we demonstrate that a Y. pestis-wide molecular clock is unstable. To resolve this, we developed a new approach in which each Y. pestis population was assessed independently, enabling us to recover substantial temporal signal in five populations, including the ancient pandemic lineages which we now estimate may have emerged decades, or even centuries, before a pandemic was historically documented from European sources. Despite this methodological advancement, we only obtain robust divergence dates from populations sampled over a period of at least 90 years, indicating that genetic evidence alone is insufficient for accurately reconstructing the timing and spread of short-term plague epidemics.
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30
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Yang R, Atkinson S, Chen Z, Cui Y, Du Z, Han Y, Sebbane F, Slavin P, Song Y, Yan Y, Wu Y, Xu L, Zhang C, Zhang Y, Hinnebusch BJ, Stenseth NC, Motin VL. Yersinia pestis and Plague: some knowns and unknowns. ZOONOSES (BURLINGTON, MASS.) 2023; 3:5. [PMID: 37602146 PMCID: PMC10438918 DOI: 10.15212/zoonoses-2022-0040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Since its first identification in 1894 during the third pandemic in Hong Kong, there has been significant progress of understanding the lifestyle of Yersinia pestis, the pathogen that is responsible for plague. Although we now have some understanding of the pathogen's physiology, genetics, genomics, evolution, gene regulation, pathogenesis and immunity, there are many unknown aspects of the pathogen and its disease development. Here, we focus on some of the knowns and unknowns relating to Y. pestis and plague. We notably focus on some key Y. pestis physiological and virulence traits that are important for its mammal-flea-mammal life cycle but also its emergence from the enteropathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Some aspects of the genetic diversity of Y. pestis, the distribution and ecology of plague as well as the medical countermeasures to protect our population are also provided. Lastly, we present some biosafety and biosecurity information related to Y. pestis and plague.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruifu Yang
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Steve Atkinson
- School of Life Sciences, Centre for Biomolecular Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Ziqi Chen
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yujun Cui
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Zongmin Du
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yanping Han
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Florent Sebbane
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur Lille, U1019-UMR 9017-CIIL-Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Philip Slavin
- Division of History and Politics, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LJ, UK
| | - Yajun Song
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yanfeng Yan
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yarong Wu
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chutian Zhang
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Yun Zhang
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - B. Joseph Hinnebusch
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Nils Chr. Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Vladimir L. Motin
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
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31
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Danielewski M, Żuraszek J, Zielińska A, Herzig KH, Słomski R, Walkowiak J, Wielgus K. Methodological Changes in the Field of Paleogenetics. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14010234. [PMID: 36672975 PMCID: PMC9859346 DOI: 10.3390/genes14010234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Paleogenetics has significantly changed since its inception almost forty years ago. Initially, molecular techniques available to the researchers offered minimal possibilities for ancient DNA analysis. The subsequent expansion of the scientific tool cabinet allowed for more remarkable achievements, combined has with the newfound popularity of this budding field of science. Finally, a breakthrough was made with the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and the update of DNA isolation protocols, through which even very fragmented aDNA samples could be used to sequence whole genomes. In this paper, we review the achievements made thus far and compare the methodologies utilized in this field of science, discussing their benefits and challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikołaj Danielewski
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
| | - Joanna Żuraszek
- Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszynska 32, 60-479 Poznan, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Zielińska
- Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszynska 32, 60-479 Poznan, Poland
| | - Karl-Heinz Herzig
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
- Research Unit of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital, P.O. Box 5000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
- Correspondence: (K.-H.H.); (K.W.)
| | - Ryszard Słomski
- Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszynska 32, 60-479 Poznan, Poland
| | - Jarosław Walkowiak
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
| | - Karolina Wielgus
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33, 60-572 Poznan, Poland
- Correspondence: (K.-H.H.); (K.W.)
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32
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Spigelman M. Paleopathology of Infectious Human Diseases. Infect Dis (Lond) 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2463-0_1087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
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33
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Gancz AS, Weyrich LS. Studying ancient human oral microbiomes could yield insights into the evolutionary history of noncommunicable diseases. F1000Res 2023; 12:109. [PMID: 37065506 PMCID: PMC10090864 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.129036.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have played a critical role in shaping human evolution and societies. Despite the exceptional impact of NCDs economically and socially, little is known about the prevalence or impact of these diseases in the past as most do not leave distinguishing features on the human skeleton and are not directly associated with unique pathogens. The inability to identify NCDs in antiquity precludes researchers from investigating how changes in diet, lifestyle, and environments modulate NCD risks in specific populations and from linking evolutionary processes to modern health patterns and disparities. In this review, we highlight how recent advances in ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing and analytical methodologies may now make it possible to reconstruct NCD-related oral microbiome traits in past populations, thereby providing the first proxies for ancient NCD risk. First, we review the direct and indirect associations between modern oral microbiomes and NCDs, specifically cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease. We then discuss how oral microbiome features associated with NCDs in modern populations may be used to identify previously unstudied sources of morbidity and mortality differences in ancient groups. Finally, we conclude with an outline of the challenges and limitations of employing this approach, as well as how they might be circumvented. While significant experimental work is needed to verify that ancient oral microbiome markers are indeed associated with quantifiable health and survivorship outcomes, this new approach is a promising path forward for evolutionary health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail S Gancz
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Laura S Weyrich
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
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34
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No evidence for persistent natural plague reservoirs in historical and modern Europe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2209816119. [PMID: 36508668 PMCID: PMC9907128 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2209816119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Caused by Yersinia pestis, plague ravaged the world through three known pandemics: the First or the Justinianic (6th-8th century); the Second (beginning with the Black Death during c.1338-1353 and lasting until the 19th century); and the Third (which became global in 1894). It is debatable whether Y. pestis persisted in European wildlife reservoirs or was repeatedly introduced from outside Europe (as covered by European Union and the British Isles). Here, we analyze environmental data (soil characteristics and climate) from active Chinese plague reservoirs to assess whether such environmental conditions in Europe had ever supported "natural plague reservoirs". We have used new statistical methods which are validated through predicting the presence of modern plague reservoirs in the western United States. We find no support for persistent natural plague reservoirs in either historical or modern Europe. Two factors make Europe unfavorable for long-term plague reservoirs: 1) Soil texture and biochemistry and 2) low rodent diversity. By comparing rodent communities in Europe with those in China and the United States, we conclude that a lack of suitable host species might be the main reason for the absence of plague reservoirs in Europe today. These findings support the hypothesis that long-term plague reservoirs did not exist in Europe and therefore question the importance of wildlife rodent species as the primary plague hosts in Europe.
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35
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Analysis of Ancient Microbial DNA. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2605:103-131. [PMID: 36520391 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2871-3_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The development of next-generation sequencing has led to a breakthrough in the analysis of ancient genomes, and the subsequent genomic analyses of ancient human skeletal remains have revolutionized our understanding of human evolution. This research led to the discovery of a new hominin lineage, and demonstrated multiple admixture events with more distantly related archaic human populations such as Neandertals and Denisovans over the last 100,000 years. Moreover, it has also yielded novel insights into the evolution of ancient pathogens. The analysis of ancient microbial genomes enables the study of their recent evolution, presently covering the last several millennia. These spectacular results have been obtained despite the degradation of DNA that takes place after the death of the host and increases with time. This cumulative degradation results in very short ancient DNA molecules, low in quantity, and highly prone to contamination by modern DNA molecules, especially from human and animal DNA present in reagents used in downstream biomolecular analyses. Finally, the minute amounts of ancient molecules are further diluted in environmental DNA from the soil microorganisms that colonize bones and teeth. Thus, ancient skeletal remains can share DNA profiles with environmental samples, and the identification of ancient microbial genomes among the more recent, presently poorly characterized, environmental microbiome is particularly challenging. Here, we describe the methods developed and/or in use in our laboratory to produce reliable and reproducible paleogenomic results from ancient skeletal remains that can be used to identify the presence of ancient microbiota.
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36
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Warinner C. An Archaeology of Microbes. JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1086/721976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christina Warinner
- Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA 02138, and Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany 04103
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37
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Hider J, Duggan AT, Klunk J, Eaton K, Long GS, Karpinski E, Giuffra V, Ventura L, Fornaciari A, Fornaciari G, Golding GB, Prowse TL, Poinar HN. Examining pathogen DNA recovery across the remains of a 14th century Italian friar (Blessed Sante) infected with Brucella melitensis. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2022; 39:20-34. [PMID: 36174312 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2022.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate variation in ancient DNA recovery of Brucella melitensis, the causative agent of brucellosis, from multiple tissues belonging to one individual MATERIALS: 14 samples were analyzed from the mummified remains of the Blessed Sante, a 14 th century Franciscan friar from central Italy, with macroscopic diagnosis of probable brucellosis. METHODS Shotgun sequencing data from was examined to determine the presence of Brucella DNA. RESULTS Three of the 14 samples contained authentic ancient DNA, identified as belonging to B. melitensis. A genome (23.81X depth coverage, 0.98 breadth coverage) was recovered from a kidney stone. Nine of the samples contained reads classified as B. melitensis (7-169), but for many the data quality was insufficient to withstand our identification and authentication criteria. CONCLUSIONS We identified significant variation in the preservation and abundance of B. melitensis DNA present across multiple tissues, with calcified nodules yielding the highest number of authenticated reads. This shows how greatly sample selection can impact pathogen identification. SIGNIFICANCE Our results demonstrate variation in the preservation and recovery of pathogen DNA across tissues. This study highlights the importance of sample selection in the reconstruction of infectious disease burden and highlights the importance of a holistic approach to identifying disease. LIMITATIONS Study focuses on pathogen recovery in a single individual. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Further analysis of how sampling impacts aDNA recovery will improve pathogen aDNA recovery and advance our understanding of disease in past peoples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Hider
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada.
| | - Ana T Duggan
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Jennifer Klunk
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Daicel Arbor Biosciences, 5840 Interface Drive, Suite 101, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Katherine Eaton
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - George S Long
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Emil Karpinski
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Valentina Giuffra
- Division of Paleopathology, Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Medical School, via Roma 57, 56126 Pisa, PI, Italy
| | - Luca Ventura
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Italy; Division of Pathology, San Salvatore Hospital, University of L'Aquila, Coppito, 67100 L'Aquila, AQ, Italy
| | - Antonio Fornaciari
- Division of Paleopathology, Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Medical School, via Roma 57, 56126 Pisa, PI, Italy
| | - Gino Fornaciari
- Maria Luisa di Borbone Academy, Villa Borbone, viale dei Tigli 32, 55049 Viareggio, LU, Italy
| | - G Brian Golding
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Tracy L Prowse
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Hendrik N Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada
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38
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Klunk J, Vilgalys TP, Demeure CE, Cheng X, Shiratori M, Madej J, Beau R, Elli D, Patino MI, Redfern R, DeWitte SN, Gamble JA, Boldsen JL, Carmichael A, Varlik N, Eaton K, Grenier JC, Golding GB, Devault A, Rouillard JM, Yotova V, Sindeaux R, Ye CJ, Bikaran M, Dumaine A, Brinkworth JF, Missiakas D, Rouleau GA, Steinrücken M, Pizarro-Cerdá J, Poinar HN, Barreiro LB. Evolution of immune genes is associated with the Black Death. Nature 2022; 611:312-319. [PMID: 36261521 PMCID: PMC9580435 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05349-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Infectious diseases are among the strongest selective pressures driving human evolution1,2. This includes the single greatest mortality event in recorded history, the first outbreak of the second pandemic of plague, commonly called the Black Death, which was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis3. This pandemic devastated Afro-Eurasia, killing up to 30-50% of the population4. To identify loci that may have been under selection during the Black Death, we characterized genetic variation around immune-related genes from 206 ancient DNA extracts, stemming from two different European populations before, during and after the Black Death. Immune loci are strongly enriched for highly differentiated sites relative to a set of non-immune loci, suggesting positive selection. We identify 245 variants that are highly differentiated within the London dataset, four of which were replicated in an independent cohort from Denmark, and represent the strongest candidates for positive selection. The selected allele for one of these variants, rs2549794, is associated with the production of a full-length (versus truncated) ERAP2 transcript, variation in cytokine response to Y. pestis and increased ability to control intracellular Y. pestis in macrophages. Finally, we show that protective variants overlap with alleles that are today associated with increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, providing empirical evidence for the role played by past pandemics in shaping present-day susceptibility to disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Klunk
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology, Biology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Daicel Arbor Biosciences, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Tauras P Vilgalys
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Xiaoheng Cheng
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Mari Shiratori
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Julien Madej
- Yersinia Research Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Rémi Beau
- Yersinia Research Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Derek Elli
- Department of Microbiology, Ricketts Laboratory, University of Chicago, Lemont, IL, USA
| | - Maria I Patino
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Rebecca Redfern
- Centre for Human Bioarchaeology, Museum of London, London, UK
| | - Sharon N DeWitte
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Julia A Gamble
- Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Jesper L Boldsen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Unit of Anthropology (ADBOU), University of Southern Denmark, Odense S, Denmark
| | - Ann Carmichael
- History Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Nükhet Varlik
- Department of History, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Katherine Eaton
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology, Biology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jean-Christophe Grenier
- Montreal Heart Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - G Brian Golding
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology, Biology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Jean-Marie Rouillard
- Daicel Arbor Biosciences, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Vania Yotova
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Renata Sindeaux
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Chun Jimmie Ye
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matin Bikaran
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anne Dumaine
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jessica F Brinkworth
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Dominique Missiakas
- Department of Microbiology, Ricketts Laboratory, University of Chicago, Lemont, IL, USA
| | - Guy A Rouleau
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Matthias Steinrücken
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Hendrik N Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology, Biology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Humans and the Microbiome Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Luis B Barreiro
- Section of Genetic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Committee on Genetics, Genomics, and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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<i>Yersinia pestis</i> Strains of the 1.ORI Line as Etiological Agent of the Plague Pandemic III. PROBLEMS OF PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS INFECTIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.21055/0370-1069-2022-3-23-37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis strains of the 1.ORI lineage originate from China as a result of evolution of the 1.ANT phylogenetic branch. Strains of the biovar orientalis are divided into three major lines of evolution: 1.ORI1, 1.ORI2, 1.ORI3. Lines 1.ORI1 and 1.ORI2 originated in China and then spread across the east and west coasts of India, respectively. Strains of the biovar orientalis have widely spread throughout the world, mainly as a result of introduction by sea. This way, the 1.ORI1 line was imported onto the territory of North America. 1.ORI2 line has spread to Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. In addition, the strains of the biovar orientalis were brought to the territory of Australia, however, the formation of natural foci did not occur. The spread of strains to new territories during the third plague pandemic, as a rule, took place with the participation of one strain, which caused epizootics among synanthropic rodents. After that, outbreaks were recorded among the population of port cities, followed by drifting into the countryside and the formation of natural foci under suitable natural conditions. In the absence of such, the plague pathogen was eliminated from natural biotopes, and the formation of a natural focus did not occur. In recent decades, most cases of human plague in the world have been caused by strains of the biovar orientalis (1.ORI). However, the emergence and spread of the evolutionary line “1” is insufficiently studied. Currently, there is a lack of both historical data and strains that are ancestors of modern strains in many countries to clarify the details of the irradiation of strains of the biovar orientalis. As a result, the concepts of dissemination of many evolution branches of the strains, biovar orientalis are in the form of hypotheses to date. In this work, the collection and analysis of literature data on the history and epidemiology of plague over the third pandemic, a search for a connection between epidemic manifestations and the appurtenance of the strains that caused them to certain phylogenetic lineages was carried out.
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van der Kuyl AC. Historic and Prehistoric Epidemics: An Overview of Sources Available for the Study of Ancient Pathogens. EPIDEMIOLOGIA 2022; 3:443-464. [PMID: 36547255 PMCID: PMC9778136 DOI: 10.3390/epidemiologia3040034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Since life on earth developed, parasitic microbes have thrived. Increases in host numbers, or the conquest of a new species, provide an opportunity for such a pathogen to enjoy, before host defense systems kick in, a similar upsurge in reproduction. Outbreaks, caused by "endemic" pathogens, and epidemics, caused by "novel" pathogens, have thus been creating chaos and destruction since prehistorical times. To study such (pre)historic epidemics, recent advances in the ancient DNA field, applied to both archeological and historical remains, have helped tremendously to elucidate the evolutionary trajectory of pathogens. These studies have offered new and unexpected insights into the evolution of, for instance, smallpox virus, hepatitis B virus, and the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis. Furthermore, burial patterns and historical publications can help in tracking down ancient pathogens. Another source of information is our genome, where selective sweeps in immune-related genes relate to past pathogen attacks, while multiple viruses have left their genomes behind for us to study. This review will discuss the sources available to investigate (pre)historic diseases, as molecular knowledge of historic and prehistoric pathogens may help us understand the past and the present, and prepare us for future epidemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoinette C. van der Kuyl
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ; Tel.: +31-205-666-778
- Amsterdam Institute for Infection and Immunity, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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HAYSTAC: A Bayesian framework for robust and rapid species identification in high-throughput sequencing data. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010493. [PMID: 36178955 PMCID: PMC9555677 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Identification of specific species in metagenomic samples is critical for several key applications, yet many tools available require large computational power and are often prone to false positive identifications. Here we describe High-AccuracY and Scalable Taxonomic Assignment of MetagenomiC data (HAYSTAC), which can estimate the probability that a specific taxon is present in a metagenome. HAYSTAC provides a user-friendly tool to construct databases, based on publicly available genomes, that are used for competitive read mapping. It then uses a novel Bayesian framework to infer the abundance and statistical support for each species identification and provide per-read species classification. Unlike other methods, HAYSTAC is specifically designed to efficiently handle both ancient and modern DNA data, as well as incomplete reference databases, making it possible to run highly accurate hypothesis-driven analyses (i.e., assessing the presence of a specific species) on variably sized reference databases while dramatically improving processing speeds. We tested the performance and accuracy of HAYSTAC using simulated Illumina libraries, both with and without ancient DNA damage, and compared the results to other currently available methods (i.e., Kraken2/Bracken, KrakenUniq, MALT/HOPS, and Sigma). HAYSTAC identified fewer false positives than both Kraken2/Bracken, KrakenUniq and MALT in all simulations, and fewer than Sigma in simulations of ancient data. It uses less memory than Kraken2/Bracken, KrakenUniq as well as MALT both during database construction and sample analysis. Lastly, we used HAYSTAC to search for specific pathogens in two published ancient metagenomic datasets, demonstrating how it can be applied to empirical datasets. HAYSTAC is available from https://github.com/antonisdim/HAYSTAC. The emerging field of paleo-metagenomics (i.e., metagenomics from ancient DNA) holds great promise for novel discoveries in fields as diverse as pathogen evolution and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. However, there is presently a lack of computational methods for species identification from microbial communities in both degraded and nondegraded DNA material. Here, we present “HAYSTAC”, a user-friendly software package that implements a novel probabilistic model for species identification in metagenomic data obtained from both degraded and non-degraded DNA material. Through extensive benchmarking, we show that HAYSTAC can be used for accurately profiling the community composition, as well as for direct hypothesis testing for the presence of extremely low-abundance taxa, in complex metagenomic samples. After analysing simulated and publicly available datasets, HAYSTAC consistently produced the lowest number of false positive identifications during taxonomic profiling, produced robust results when databases of restricted size were used, and showed increased sensitivity for pathogen detection compared to other specialist methods. The newly proposed probabilistic model and software employed by HAYSTAC can have a substantial impact on the robust and rapid pathogen discovery in degraded/shallow sequenced metagenomic samples while optimising the use of computational resources.
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Abstract
Paleoproteomics, the study of ancient proteins, is a rapidly growing field at the intersection of molecular biology, paleontology, archaeology, paleoecology, and history. Paleoproteomics research leverages the longevity and diversity of proteins to explore fundamental questions about the past. While its origins predate the characterization of DNA, it was only with the advent of soft ionization mass spectrometry that the study of ancient proteins became truly feasible. Technological gains over the past 20 years have allowed increasing opportunities to better understand preservation, degradation, and recovery of the rich bioarchive of ancient proteins found in the archaeological and paleontological records. Growing from a handful of studies in the 1990s on individual highly abundant ancient proteins, paleoproteomics today is an expanding field with diverse applications ranging from the taxonomic identification of highly fragmented bones and shells and the phylogenetic resolution of extinct species to the exploration of past cuisines from dental calculus and pottery food crusts and the characterization of past diseases. More broadly, these studies have opened new doors in understanding past human-animal interactions, the reconstruction of past environments and environmental changes, the expansion of the hominin fossil record through large scale screening of nondiagnostic bone fragments, and the phylogenetic resolution of the vertebrate fossil record. Even with these advances, much of the ancient proteomic record still remains unexplored. Here we provide an overview of the history of the field, a summary of the major methods and applications currently in use, and a critical evaluation of current challenges. We conclude by looking to the future, for which innovative solutions and emerging technology will play an important role in enabling us to access the still unexplored "dark" proteome, allowing for a fuller understanding of the role ancient proteins can play in the interpretation of the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Warinner
- Department
of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Kristine Korzow Richter
- Department
of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Matthew J. Collins
- Department
of Archaeology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, United Kingdom
- Section
for Evolutionary Genomics, Globe Institute,
University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark
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Schuenemann VJ. Ancient DNA: Pathogens caught in the Minoan labyrinth. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R886-R889. [PMID: 35998599 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Ancient DNA methodologies enable research on past prevalence and evolutionary history of pathogens. A new study found plague and typhoid fever-causing bacteria in Minoan Crete, showcasing both the potential and the limitations of the growing field of ancient pathogen genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena J Schuenemann
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
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Buikstra JE, DeWitte SN, Agarwal SC, Baker BJ, Bartelink EJ, Berger E, Blevins KE, Bolhofner K, Boutin AT, Brickley MB, Buzon MR, de la Cova C, Goldstein L, Gowland R, Grauer AL, Gregoricka LA, Halcrow SE, Hall SA, Hillson S, Kakaliouras AM, Klaus HD, Knudson KJ, Knüsel CJ, Larsen CS, Martin DL, Milner GR, Novak M, Nystrom KC, Pacheco-Forés SI, Prowse TL, Robbins Schug G, Roberts CA, Rothwell JE, Santos AL, Stojanowski C, Stone AC, Stull KE, Temple DH, Torres CM, Toyne JM, Tung TA, Ullinger J, Wiltschke-Schrotta K, Zakrzewski SR. Twenty-first century bioarchaeology: Taking stock and moving forward. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 178 Suppl 74:54-114. [PMID: 36790761 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
This article presents outcomes from a Workshop entitled "Bioarchaeology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward," which was held at Arizona State University (ASU) on March 6-8, 2020. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (ASU), and the Center for Bioarchaeological Research (CBR, ASU), the Workshop's overall goal was to explore reasons why research proposals submitted by bioarchaeologists, both graduate students and established scholars, fared disproportionately poorly within recent NSF Anthropology Program competitions and to offer advice for increasing success. Therefore, this Workshop comprised 43 international scholars and four advanced graduate students with a history of successful grant acquisition, primarily from the United States. Ultimately, we focused on two related aims: (1) best practices for improving research designs and training and (2) evaluating topics of contemporary significance that reverberate through history and beyond as promising trajectories for bioarchaeological research. Among the former were contextual grounding, research question/hypothesis generation, statistical procedures appropriate for small samples and mixed qualitative/quantitative data, the salience of Bayesian methods, and training program content. Topical foci included ethics, social inequality, identity (including intersectionality), climate change, migration, violence, epidemic disease, adaptability/plasticity, the osteological paradox, and the developmental origins of health and disease. Given the profound changes required globally to address decolonization in the 21st century, this concern also entered many formal and informal discussions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Buikstra
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Sharon N DeWitte
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Sabrina C Agarwal
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Brenda J Baker
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Eric J Bartelink
- Department of Anthropology, California State University, Chico, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth Berger
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | | | - Katelyn Bolhofner
- School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
| | - Alexis T Boutin
- Department of Anthropology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA
| | - Megan B Brickley
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michele R Buzon
- Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Carlina de la Cova
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Lynne Goldstein
- Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Anne L Grauer
- Department of Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Lesley A Gregoricka
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA
| | - Siân E Halcrow
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Sarah A Hall
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Simon Hillson
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ann M Kakaliouras
- Department of Anthropology, Whittier College, Whittier, California, USA
| | - Haagen D Klaus
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
| | - Kelly J Knudson
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Christopher J Knüsel
- Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR5199, F-33615, Pessac, France
| | | | - Debra L Martin
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
| | - George R Milner
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Mario Novak
- Center for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Kenneth C Nystrom
- Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, New York, USA
| | | | - Tracy L Prowse
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gwen Robbins Schug
- Environmental Health Program, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Jessica E Rothwell
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Ana Luisa Santos
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CIAS), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Christopher Stojanowski
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Anne C Stone
- Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Kyra E Stull
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Daniel H Temple
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
| | - Christina M Torres
- Department of Anthropology and Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced, USA, and Instituto de Arqueología y Antropología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - J Marla Toyne
- Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA
| | - Tiffiny A Tung
- Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jaime Ullinger
- Bioanthropology Research Institute, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut, USA
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Dimka J, van Doren TP, Battles HT. Pandemics, past and present: The role of biological anthropology in interdisciplinary pandemic studies. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022. [PMCID: PMC9082061 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Biological anthropologists are ideally suited for the study of pandemics given their strengths in human biology, health, culture, and behavior, yet pandemics have historically not been a major focus of research. The COVID‐19 pandemic has reinforced the need to understand pandemic causes and unequal consequences at multiple levels. Insights from past pandemics can strengthen the knowledge base and inform the study of current and future pandemics through an anthropological lens. In this paper, we discuss the distinctive social and epidemiological features of pandemics, as well as the ways in which biological anthropologists have previously studied infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. We then review interdisciplinary research on three pandemics–1918 influenza, 2009 influenza, and COVID‐19–focusing on persistent social inequalities in morbidity and mortality related to sex and gender; race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity; and pre‐existing health and disability. Following this review of the current state of pandemic research on these topics, we conclude with a discussion of ways biological anthropologists can contribute to this field moving forward. Biological anthropologists can add rich historical and cross‐cultural depth to the study of pandemics, provide insights into the biosocial complexities of pandemics using the theory of syndemics, investigate the social and health impacts of stress and stigma, and address important methodological and ethical issues. As COVID‐19 is unlikely to be the last global pandemic, stronger involvement of biological anthropology in pandemic studies and public health policy and research is vital.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Dimka
- Centre for Research on Pandemics and Society Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Norway
| | | | - Heather T. Battles
- Anthropology, School of Social Sciences The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
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Neumann GU, Skourtanioti E, Burri M, Nelson EA, Michel M, Hiss AN, McGeorge PJP, Betancourt PP, Spyrou MA, Krause J, Stockhammer PW. Ancient Yersinia pestis and Salmonella enterica genomes from Bronze Age Crete. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3641-3649.e8. [PMID: 35882233 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
During the late 3rd millennium BCE, the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East witnessed societal changes in many regions, which are usually explained with a combination of social and climatic factors.1-4 However, recent archaeogenetic research forces us to rethink models regarding the role of infectious diseases in past societal trajectories.5 The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was involved in some of the most destructive historical pandemics,5-8 circulated across Eurasia at least from the onset of the 3rd millennium BCE,9-13 but the challenging preservation of ancient DNA in warmer climates has restricted the identification of Y.pestis from this period to temperate climatic regions. As such, evidence from culturally prominent regions such as the Eastern Mediterranean is currently lacking. Here, we present genetic evidence for the presence of Y. pestis and Salmonella enterica, the causative agent of typhoid/enteric fever, from this period of transformation in Crete, detected at the cave site Hagios Charalambos. We reconstructed one Y. pestis genome that forms part of a now-extinct lineage of Y. pestis strains from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age that were likely not yet adapted for transmission via fleas. Furthermore, we reconstructed two ancient S. enterica genomes from the Para C lineage, which cluster with contemporary strains that were likely not yet fully host adapted to humans. The occurrence of these two virulent pathogens at the end of the Early Minoan period in Crete emphasizes the necessity to re-introduce infectious diseases as an additional factor possibly contributing to the transformation of early complex societies in the Aegean and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunnar U Neumann
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Eirini Skourtanioti
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marta Burri
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Elizabeth A Nelson
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, 354 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
| | - Megan Michel
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 10 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alina N Hiss
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | | | - Philip P Betancourt
- Department of Art History and Archaeology, Temple University, 2001 N. 13(th) St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Maria A Spyrou
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Philipp W Stockhammer
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig Maximilian University, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80799 München, Germany.
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Nishimura L, Fujito N, Sugimoto R, Inoue I. Detection of Ancient Viruses and Long-Term Viral Evolution. Viruses 2022; 14:v14061336. [PMID: 35746807 PMCID: PMC9230872 DOI: 10.3390/v14061336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak has reminded us of the importance of viral evolutionary studies as regards comprehending complex viral evolution and preventing future pandemics. A unique approach to understanding viral evolution is the use of ancient viral genomes. Ancient viruses are detectable in various archaeological remains, including ancient people's skeletons and mummified tissues. Those specimens have preserved ancient viral DNA and RNA, which have been vigorously analyzed in the last few decades thanks to the development of sequencing technologies. Reconstructed ancient pathogenic viral genomes have been utilized to estimate the past pandemics of pathogenic viruses within the ancient human population and long-term evolutionary events. Recent studies revealed the existence of non-pathogenic viral genomes in ancient people's bodies. These ancient non-pathogenic viruses might be informative for inferring their relationships with ancient people's diets and lifestyles. Here, we reviewed the past and ongoing studies on ancient pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses and the usage of ancient viral genomes to understand their long-term viral evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Nishimura
- Human Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima 411-8540, Japan; (L.N.); (N.F.); (R.S.)
- Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima 411-8540, Japan
| | - Naoko Fujito
- Human Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima 411-8540, Japan; (L.N.); (N.F.); (R.S.)
- Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima 411-8540, Japan
| | - Ryota Sugimoto
- Human Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima 411-8540, Japan; (L.N.); (N.F.); (R.S.)
| | - Ituro Inoue
- Human Genetics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima 411-8540, Japan; (L.N.); (N.F.); (R.S.)
- Department of Genetics, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima 411-8540, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-55-981-6795
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Spyrou MA, Musralina L, Gnecchi Ruscone GA, Kocher A, Borbone PG, Khartanovich VI, Buzhilova A, Djansugurova L, Bos KI, Kühnert D, Haak W, Slavin P, Krause J. The source of the Black Death in fourteenth-century central Eurasia. Nature 2022; 606:718-724. [PMID: 35705810 PMCID: PMC9217749 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04800-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The origin of the medieval Black Death pandemic (AD 1346-1353) has been a topic of continuous investigation because of the pandemic's extensive demographic impact and long-lasting consequences1,2. Until now, the most debated archaeological evidence potentially associated with the pandemic's initiation derives from cemeteries located near Lake Issyk-Kul of modern-day Kyrgyzstan1,3-9. These sites are thought to have housed victims of a fourteenth-century epidemic as tombstone inscriptions directly dated to 1338-1339 state 'pestilence' as the cause of death for the buried individuals9. Here we report ancient DNA data from seven individuals exhumed from two of these cemeteries, Kara-Djigach and Burana. Our synthesis of archaeological, historical and ancient genomic data shows a clear involvement of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in this epidemic event. Two reconstructed ancient Y. pestis genomes represent a single strain and are identified as the most recent common ancestor of a major diversification commonly associated with the pandemic's emergence, here dated to the first half of the fourteenth century. Comparisons with present-day diversity from Y. pestis reservoirs in the extended Tian Shan region support a local emergence of the recovered ancient strain. Through multiple lines of evidence, our data support an early fourteenth-century source of the second plague pandemic in central Eurasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Spyrou
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
| | - Lyazzat Musralina
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Laboratory of Population Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Physiology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
- Kazakh National University by al-Farabi, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Guido A Gnecchi Ruscone
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Arthur Kocher
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification & Evolution Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Pier-Giorgio Borbone
- Department of Civilisations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Valeri I Khartanovich
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Kunstkamera, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Alexandra Buzhilova
- Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Leyla Djansugurova
- Laboratory of Population Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Physiology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Kirsten I Bos
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Denise Kühnert
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification & Evolution Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC), Jena, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Philip Slavin
- Division of History, Heritage and Politics, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
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Stone Age Yersinia pestis genomes shed light on the early evolution, diversity, and ecology of plague. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2116722119. [PMID: 35412864 PMCID: PMC9169917 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116722119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The bacterium Yersinia pestis has caused numerous historically documented outbreaks of plague and research using ancient DNA could demonstrate that it already affected human populations during the Neolithic. However, the pathogen’s genetic diversity, geographic spread, and transmission dynamics during this early period of Y. pestis evolution are largely unexplored. Here, we describe a set of ancient plague genomes up to 5,000 y old from across Eurasia. Our data demonstrate that two genetically distinct forms of Y. pestis evolved in parallel and were both distributed across vast geographic distances, potentially occupying different ecological niches. Interpreted within the archeological context, our results suggest that the spread of plague during this period was linked to increased human mobility and intensification of animal husbandry. The bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis gave rise to devastating outbreaks throughout human history, and ancient DNA evidence has shown it afflicted human populations as far back as the Neolithic. Y. pestis genomes recovered from the Eurasian Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (LNBA) period have uncovered key evolutionary steps that led to its emergence from a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-like progenitor; however, the number of reconstructed LNBA genomes are too few to explore its diversity during this critical period of development. Here, we present 17 Y. pestis genomes dating to 5,000 to 2,500 y BP from a wide geographic expanse across Eurasia. This increased dataset enabled us to explore correlations between temporal, geographical, and genetic distance. Our results suggest a nonflea-adapted and potentially extinct single lineage that persisted over millennia without significant parallel diversification, accompanied by rapid dispersal across continents throughout this period, a trend not observed in other pathogens for which ancient genomes are available. A stepwise pattern of gene loss provides further clues on its early evolution and potential adaptation. We also discover the presence of the flea-adapted form of Y. pestis in Bronze Age Iberia, previously only identified in in the Caucasus and the Volga regions, suggesting a much wider geographic spread of this form of Y. pestis. Together, these data reveal the dynamic nature of plague’s formative years in terms of its early evolution and ecology.
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Preventive Measures against Pandemics from the Beginning of Civilization to Nowadays—How Everything Has Remained the Same over the Millennia. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11071960. [PMID: 35407571 PMCID: PMC8999828 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11071960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As of 27 March 2022, the β-coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected more than 487 million individuals worldwide, causing more than 6.14 million deaths. SARS-CoV-2 spreads through close contact, causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); thus, emergency lockdowns have been implemented worldwide to avoid its spread. COVID-19 is not the first infectious disease that humankind has had to face during its history. Indeed, humans have recurrently been threatened by several emerging pathogens that killed a substantial fraction of the population. Historical sources document that as early as between the 10th and the 6th centuries BCE, the authorities prescribed physical–social isolation, physical distancing, and quarantine of the infected subjects until the end of the disease, measures that strongly resemble containment measures taken nowadays. In this review, we show a historical and literary overview of different epidemic diseases and how the recommendations in the pre-vaccine era were, and still are, effective in containing the contagion.
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