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Mazzanti C, Zedda N, Bramanti B. Antimicrobial therapies administrated during the Third Plague Pandemic in Europe. LE INFEZIONI IN MEDICINA 2024; 32:254-263. [PMID: 38827832 PMCID: PMC11142408 DOI: 10.53854/liim-3202-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Plague raged in Europe for over 1400 years and was responsible for three major pandemics. Today, plague still poses a serious threat to global public health and surveillance is imperative. Plague is still present in natural reservoirs on several continents, including Africa, Asia and the Americas, and sometimes causes local cases and epidemics. The Third Plague Pandemic caused millions of deaths worldwide, including in Europe. Plague arrived in Europe in the autumn of 1896 mostly through maritime trade routes, where it spread with several epidemic events until 1945, when, in the port city of Taranto, the last known outbreak was recorded. In this paper, we present an overview of the natural history and pathogenicity of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague, its spread from Asia to Europe during the Third Pandemic, and the therapies used to treat and prevent the disease in Europe, with particular focus on the case of Taranto. In Taranto, the Pasteur Institute's antiserum antimicrobial therapy, and vaccination were used to treat and stop the advance of the bacterium, with mixed results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Mazzanti
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Zedda
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Barbara Bramanti
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
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2
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Jackson I, Woodman P, Dowd M, Fibiger L, Cassidy LM. Ancient Genomes From Bronze Age Remains Reveal Deep Diversity and Recent Adaptive Episodes for Human Oral Pathobionts. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae017. [PMID: 38533900 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Ancient microbial genomes can illuminate pathobiont evolution across millenia, with teeth providing a rich substrate. However, the characterization of prehistoric oral pathobiont diversity is limited. In Europe, only preagricultural genomes have been subject to phylogenetic analysis, with none compared to more recent archaeological periods. Here, we report well-preserved microbiomes from two 4,000-year-old teeth from an Irish limestone cave. These contained bacteria implicated in periodontitis, as well as Streptococcus mutans, the major cause of caries and rare in the ancient genomic record. Despite deriving from the same individual, these teeth produced divergent Tannerella forsythia genomes, indicating higher levels of strain diversity in prehistoric populations. We find evidence of microbiome dysbiosis, with a disproportionate quantity of S. mutans sequences relative to other oral streptococci. This high abundance allowed for metagenomic assembly, resulting in its first reported ancient genome. Phylogenetic analysis indicates major postmedieval population expansions for both species, highlighting the inordinate impact of recent dietary changes. In T. forsythia, this expansion is associated with the replacement of older lineages, possibly reflecting a genome-wide selective sweep. Accordingly, we see dramatic changes in T. forsythia's virulence repertoire across this period. S. mutans shows a contrasting pattern, with deeply divergent lineages persisting in modern populations. This may be due to its highly recombining nature, allowing for maintenance of diversity through selective episodes. Nonetheless, an explosion in recent coalescences and significantly shorter branch lengths separating bacteriocin-carrying strains indicate major changes in S. mutans demography and function coinciding with sugar popularization during the industrial period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iseult Jackson
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
- The SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Peter Woodman
- Department of Archaeology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Marion Dowd
- Faculty of Science, Atlantic Technological University, Sligo, Ireland
| | - Linda Fibiger
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
| | - Lara M Cassidy
- Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
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3
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Hui R, Scheib CL, D’Atanasio E, Inskip SA, Cessford C, Biagini SA, Wohns AW, Ali MQ, Griffith SJ, Solnik A, Niinemäe H, Ge XJ, Rose AK, Beneker O, O’Connell TC, Robb JE, Kivisild T. Genetic history of Cambridgeshire before and after the Black Death. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi5903. [PMID: 38232165 PMCID: PMC10793959 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi5903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
The extent of the devastation of the Black Death pandemic (1346-1353) on European populations is known from documentary sources and its bacterial source illuminated by studies of ancient pathogen DNA. What has remained less understood is the effect of the pandemic on human mobility and genetic diversity at the local scale. Here, we report 275 ancient genomes, including 109 with coverage >0.1×, from later medieval and postmedieval Cambridgeshire of individuals buried before and after the Black Death. Consistent with the function of the institutions, we found a lack of close relatives among the friars and the inmates of the hospital in contrast to their abundance in general urban and rural parish communities. While we detect long-term shifts in local genetic ancestry in Cambridgeshire, we find no evidence of major changes in genetic ancestry nor higher differentiation of immune loci between cohorts living before and after the Black Death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruoyun Hui
- Alan Turing Institute, London, UK
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Christiana L. Scheib
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- St John’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Sarah A. Inskip
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Craig Cessford
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Anthony W. Wohns
- School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Genetics and Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Samuel J. Griffith
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Anu Solnik
- Core Facility, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Helja Niinemäe
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Xiangyu Jack Ge
- Wellcome Genome Campus, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Alice K. Rose
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, Durham, UK
| | - Owyn Beneker
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tamsin C. O’Connell
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - John E. Robb
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Toomas Kivisild
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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4
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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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5
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Silcocks M, Dunstan SJ. Parallel signatures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human Y-chromosome phylogeography support the Two Layer model of East Asian population history. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1037. [PMID: 37833496 PMCID: PMC10575886 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05388-8] [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: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The Two Layer hypothesis is fast becoming the favoured narrative describing East Asian population history. Under this model, hunter-gatherer groups who initially peopled East Asia via a route south of the Himalayas were assimilated by agriculturalist migrants who arrived via a northern route across Eurasia. A lack of ancient samples from tropical East Asia limits the resolution of this model. We consider insight afforded by patterns of variation within the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) by analysing its phylogeographic signatures jointly with the human Y-chromosome. We demonstrate the Y-chromosome lineages enriched in the traditionally hunter-gatherer groups associated with East Asia's first layer of peopling to display deep roots, low long-term effective population size, and diversity patterns consistent with a southern entry route. These characteristics mirror those of the evolutionarily ancient Mtb lineage 1. The remaining East Asian Y-chromosome lineage is almost entirely absent from traditionally hunter-gatherer groups and displays spatial and temporal characteristics which are incompatible with a southern entry route, and which link it to the development of agriculture in modern-day China. These characteristics mirror those of the evolutionarily modern Mtb lineage 2. This model paves the way for novel host-pathogen coevolutionary research hypotheses in East Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Silcocks
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
| | - Sarah J Dunstan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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6
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Qin J, Wu Y, Shi L, Zuo X, Zhang X, Qian X, Fan H, Guo Y, Cui M, Zhang H, Yang F, Kong J, Song Y, Yang R, Wang P, Cui Y. Genomic diversity of Yersinia pestis from Yunnan Province, China, implies a potential common ancestor as the source of two plague epidemics. Commun Biol 2023; 6:847. [PMID: 37582843 PMCID: PMC10427647 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05186-2] [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: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a zoonotic disease that can reemerge and cause outbreaks following decades of latency in natural plague foci. However, the genetic diversity and spread pattern of Y. pestis during these epidemic-silent cycles remain unclear. In this study, we analyze 356 Y. pestis genomes isolated between 1952 and 2016 in the Yunnan Rattus tanezumi plague focus, China, covering two epidemic-silent cycles. Through high-resolution genomic epidemiological analysis, we find that 96% of Y. pestis genomes belong to phylogroup 1.ORI2 and are subdivided into two sister clades (Sublineage1 and Sublineage2) characterized by different temporal-spatial distributions and genetic diversity. Most of the Sublineage1 strains are isolated from the first epidemic-silent cycle, while Sublineage2 strains are predominantly from the second cycle and revealing a west to east spread. The two sister clades evolved in parallel from a common ancestor and independently lead to two separate epidemics, confirming that the pathogen responsible for the second epidemic following the silent interval is not a descendant of the causative strain of the first epidemic. Our results provide a mechanism for defining epidemic-silent cycles in natural plague foci, which is valuable in the prevention and control of future plague outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingliang Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yarong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Liyuan Shi
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Xiujuan Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xianglilan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiuwei Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Hang Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Mengnan Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Haipeng Zhang
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Fengyi Yang
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Jinjiao Kong
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Yajun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
| | - Peng Wang
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China.
| | - Yujun Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
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7
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Qin J, Shi L, Wu Y, Kong J, Qian X, Zhang X, Zuo X, Fan H, Guo Y, Cui M, Dong S, Tan H, Zhong Y, Song Y, Yang R, Wang P, Cui Y. Genomic epidemiological analysis of county-scale Yersinia pestis spread pattern over 50 years in a Southwest Chinese prefecture. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011527. [PMID: 37549110 PMCID: PMC10406180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011527] [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: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Plague, one of the most devastating infectious diseases in human history, is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Since the 1950s, the Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture (DH) in Yunnan Province, China, has recorded plague outbreaks that have resulted in 1,153 human cases and 379 deaths. The genetic diversity and transmission characteristics of Y. pestis strains in this region remain unknown. Here, we performed high-resolution genomic epidemiological analysis of 175 Y. pestis strains isolated from five counties and 19 towns in DH between 1953 and 2007. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most DH strains were located in lineage 1.ORI2, which could be further subdivided into seven sub-phylogroups (SPG1-SPG7). The dominant sub-phylogroups of Y. pestis in DH varied during different periods and presented a population shift. Genomic evidence showed that plague might have emerged from the southwest of DH (e.g., Longchuan or Ruili counties) or its bordering countries, and subsequently spread to the northeast in multiple waves between 1982 and 2007. Our study infers a fine-scale phylogeny and spread pattern of the DH Y. pestis population, which extends our knowledge regarding its genetic diversity and provides clues for the future prevention and control of plague in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingliang Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Liyuan Shi
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Yarong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Jinjiao Kong
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Xiuwei Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xianglilan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiujuan Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Hang Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Mengnan Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Shanshan Dong
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Hongli Tan
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Youhong Zhong
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Yajun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Yunnan Institute of Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali, China
| | - Yujun Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
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8
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Bonczarowska JH, Susat J, Krause-Kyora B, Dangvard Pedersen D, Boldsen J, Larsen LA, Seeberg L, Nebel A, Unterweger D. Ancient Yersinia pestis genomes lack the virulence-associated Ypf Φ prophage present in modern pandemic strains. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230622. [PMID: 37464758 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0622] [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: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of at least three major plague pandemics (Justinianic, Medieval and Modern). Previous studies on ancient Y. pestis genomes revealed that several genomic alterations had occurred approximately 5000-3000 years ago and contributed to the remarkable virulence of this pathogen. How a subset of strains evolved to cause the Modern pandemic is less well-understood. Here, we examined the virulence-associated prophage (YpfΦ), which had been postulated to be exclusively present in the genomes of strains associated with the Modern pandemic. The analysis of two new Y. pestis genomes from medieval/early modern Denmark confirmed that the phage is absent from the genome of strains dating to this time period. An extended comparative genome analysis of over 300 strains spanning more than 5000 years showed that the prophage is found in the genomes of modern strains only and suggests an integration into the genome during recent Y. pestis evolution. The phage-encoded Zot protein showed structural homology to a virulence factor of Vibrio cholerae. Similar to modern Y. pestis, we observed phages with a common origin to YpfΦ in individual strains of other bacterial species. Our findings present an updated view on the prevalence of YpfΦ, which might contribute to our understanding of the host spectrum, geographical spread and virulence of Y. pestis responsible for the Modern pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna H Bonczarowska
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 12, Kiel 24105, Germany
| | - Julian Susat
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 12, Kiel 24105, Germany
| | - Ben Krause-Kyora
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 12, Kiel 24105, Germany
| | - Dorthe Dangvard Pedersen
- Unit of Anthropology, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, 5230, Denmark
| | - Jesper Boldsen
- Unit of Anthropology, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, 5230, Denmark
| | | | - Lone Seeberg
- Museum Horsens Arkæologisk Afdeling, Fussingsvej 8, Horsens 8700, Denmark
| | - Almut Nebel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 12, Kiel 24105, Germany
| | - Daniel Unterweger
- Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Michaelisstraße 5, Kiel 24105, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Straße 2, Plön 24306, Germany
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10
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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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11
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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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Esquivel Gomez LR, Savin C, Andrianaivoarimanana V, Rahajandraibe S, Randriantseheno LN, Zhou Z, Kocher A, Didelot X, Rajerison M, Kühnert D. Phylogenetic analysis of the origin and spread of plague in Madagascar. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0010362. [PMID: 37126517 PMCID: PMC10174576 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plague is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, highly prevalent in the Central Highlands, a mountainous region in the center of Madagascar. After a plague-free period of over 60 years in the northwestern coast city of Mahajanga, the disease reappeared in 1991 and caused several outbreaks until 1999. Previous research indicates that the disease was reintroduced to the city of Mahajanga from the Central Highlands instead of reemerging from a local reservoir. However, it is not clear how many reintroductions occurred and when they took place. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In this study we applied a Bayesian phylogeographic model to detect and date migrations of Y. pestis between the two locations that could be linked to the re-emergence of plague in Mahajanga. Genome sequences of 300 Y. pestis strains sampled between 1964 and 2012 were analyzed. Four migrations from the Central Highlands to Mahajanga were detected. Two resulted in persistent transmission in humans, one was responsible for most of the human cases recorded between 1995 and 1999, while the other produced plague cases in 1991 and 1992. We dated the emergence of the Y. pestis sub-branch 1.ORI3, which is only present in Madagascar and Turkey, to the beginning of the 20th century, using a Bayesian molecular dating analysis. The split between 1.ORI3 and its ancestor lineage 1.ORI2 was dated to the second half of the 19th century. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our results indicate that two independent migrations from the Central Highlands caused the plague outbreaks in Mahajanga during the 1990s, with both introductions occurring during the early 1980s. They happened over a decade before the detection of human cases, thus the pathogen likely survived in wild reservoirs until the spillover to humans was possible. This study demonstrates the value of Bayesian phylogenetics in elucidating the re-emergence of infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Roger Esquivel Gomez
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification & Evolution Group (tide), Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology (formerly MPI for the Science of Human History), Jena, Germany
| | - Cyril Savin
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, Yersinia Research Unit, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, Yersinia National Reference Laboratory, Paris, France
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, WHO Collaborative Reference & Research Center for Plague FRA-140, Paris, France
| | | | - Soloandry Rahajandraibe
- Plague Unit, Central Laboratory for Plague, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | - Zhemin Zhou
- Pasteurien College, Medical school of Soochow University, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Arthur Kocher
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification & Evolution Group (tide), Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology (formerly MPI for the Science of Human History), Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xavier Didelot
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
- Department of Statistics, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Minoarisoa Rajerison
- Plague Unit, Central Laboratory for Plague, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Denise Kühnert
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification & Evolution Group (tide), Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology (formerly MPI for the Science of Human History), Jena, Germany
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13
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Eaton K, Sidhu RK, Klunk J, Gamble JA, Boldsen JL, Carmichael AG, Varlık N, Duchene S, Featherstone L, Grimes V, Golding GB, DeWitte SN, Holmes EC, Poinar HN. Emergence, continuity, and evolution of Yersinia pestis throughout medieval and early modern Denmark. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1147-1152.e5. [PMID: 36841239 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.064] [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: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
The historical epidemiology of plague is controversial due to the scarcity and ambiguity of available data.1,2 A common source of debate is the extent and pattern of plague re-emergence and local continuity in Europe during the 14th-18th century CE.3 Despite having a uniquely long history of plague (∼5,000 years), Scandinavia is relatively underrepresented in the historical archives.4,5 To better understand the historical epidemiology and evolutionary history of plague in this region, we performed in-depth (n = 298) longitudinal screening (800 years) for the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) across 13 archaeological sites in Denmark from 1000 to 1800 CE. Our genomic and phylogenetic data captured the emergence, continuity, and evolution of Y. pestis in this region over a period of 300 years (14th-17th century CE), for which the plague-positivity rate was 8.3% (3.3%-14.3% by site). Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Danish Y. pestis sequences were interspersed with those from other European countries, rather than forming a single cluster, indicative of the generation, spread, and replacement of bacterial variants through communities rather than their long-term local persistence. These results provide an epidemiological link between Y. pestis and the unknown pestilence that afflicted medieval and early modern Europe. They also demonstrate how population-scale genomic evidence can be used to test hypotheses on disease mortality and epidemiology and help pave the way for the next generation of historical disease research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Eaton
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada; Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada
| | - Ravneet K Sidhu
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada; Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4E8, Canada
| | - Jennifer Klunk
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada; Daicel Arbor Biosciences, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Julia A Gamble
- Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Jesper L Boldsen
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Unit of Anthropology (ADBOU), University of Southern Denmark, 5260 Odense, Denmark
| | - Ann G Carmichael
- Department of History, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Nükhet Varlık
- Department of History, Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Sebastian Duchene
- The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3004, Australia
| | - Leo Featherstone
- The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3004, Australia
| | - Vaughan Grimes
- Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. Johns, SC A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - G Brian Golding
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4E8, Canada
| | - Sharon N DeWitte
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Edward C Holmes
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
| | - Hendrik N Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada; Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L82 4K1, Canada; Michael G. DeGroote Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Humans and the Microbiome Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada.
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14
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Advanced Molecular-Genetic Methods and Prospects for Their Application for the Indication and Identification of <i>Yersinia pestis</i> Strains. PROBLEMS OF PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS INFECTIONS 2023. [DOI: 10.21055/0370-1069-2022-4-29-40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
The review provides an analysis of the literature data on the use of various modern molecular-genetic methods for the indication and identification of Yersinia pestis strains with different properties and degree of virulence, which is caused by the diverse natural conditions in which they circulate. The methods are also considered from the perspective of their promising application at three levels (territorial, regional and federal) of the system for laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases at the premises of Rospotrebnadzor organizations to solve the problem of maintaining the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the country’s population. The main groups of methods considered are as follows: based on the analysis of the lengths of restriction fragments (ribo- and IS-typing, pulse gel electrophoresis); based on the analysis of specific fragments (DFR typing, VNTR typing); based on sequencing (MLST, CRISPR analysis, SNP analysis); PCR methods (including IPCR, SPA); isothermal amplification methods (LAMP, HDA, RPA, SEA, PCA, SHERLOCK); DNA-microarray; methods using aptamer technology; bio- and nano-sensors; DNA origami; methods based on neural networks. We can conclude that the rapid development of molecular diagnostics and genetics is aimed at increasing efficiency, multi-factorial approaches and simplifying the application of techniques with no need for expensive equipment and highly qualified personnel for analysis. At all levels of the system for laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases at the Rospotrebnadzor organizations, it is possible to use methods based on PCR, isothermal amplification, SHERLOCK, biosensors, and small-sized sequencing devices. At the territorial level, at plague control stations, the use of immuno-PCR and SPA for the indication of Y. pestis is viable. At the regional level, introduction of the technologies based on the use of aptamers and DNA chips looks promising. For the federal level, the use of DNA origami methods and new technologies of whole genome sequencing is a prospect within the framework of advanced identification, molecular typing and sequencing of the genomes of plague agent strains.
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15
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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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16
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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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17
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Jäger HY, Maixner F, Pap I, Szikossy I, Pálfi G, Zink AR. Metagenomic analysis reveals mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a 18th century Hungarian midwife. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2022; 137:102181. [PMID: 35210171 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2022.102181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The Vác Mummy Collection comprises 265 well documented mummified individuals from the late 16th to the early 18th century that were discovered in 1994 inside a crypt in Vác, Hungary. This collection offers a unique opportunity to study the relationship between humans and pathogens in the pre-antibiotic era, as previous studies have shown a high proportion of tuberculosis (TB) infections among the individuals. In this study, we recovered ancient DNA with shotgun sequencing from a rib bone sample of a 18th century midwife. This individual is part of the collection and shows clear skeletal changes that are associated with tuberculosis and syphilis. To provide molecular proof, we applied a metagenomic approach to screen for ancient pathogen DNA. While we were unsuccessful to recover any ancient Treponema pallidum DNA, we retrieved high coverage ancient TB DNA and identified a mixed infection with two distinct TB strains by detailed single-nucleotide polymorphism and phylogenetic analysis. Thereby, we have obtained comprehensive results demonstrating the long-time prevalence of mixed infections with the sublineages L4.1.2.1/Haarlem and L4.10/PGG3 within the local community in preindustrial Hungary and put them in context of sociohistorical factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi Y Jäger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6726, Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 1083, Budapest, Ludovika tér 2-6, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, 1117, Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Hungary.
| | - Ildikó Szikossy
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6726, Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 1083, Budapest, Ludovika tér 2-6, Hungary.
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6726, Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Hungary.
| | - Albert R Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
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18
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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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19
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van der Kuyl AC. Historic and Prehistoric Epidemics: An Overview of Sources Available for the Study of Ancient Pathogens. EPIDEMIOLOGIA (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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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20
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Abstract
The Austin friars in Cambridge was an important religious institution between the late thirteenth and mid-sixteenth centuries. Excavations have revealed well-dated and contextualised burials associated with the friary, as well as a range of material culture. The burials have been subject to a wide range of analyses including osteology, palaeopathology, stable isotopes, ancient DNA and geometric morphometrics. Significantly the distinction between clothed and shrouded burials allows members of the Augustinian order and the laity to be identified. This represents the best-understood published group of burials from an Austin friars in the British Isles and emphasises the importance of nuanced interpretation, as burial at friaries was a structured and multi-local phenomenon. These burials and other material can be interpreted in terms of both mendicant ideals and anti-fraternal criticisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig Cessford
- Cambridge Archaeological Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Benjamin Neil
- Cambridge Archaeological Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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21
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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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22
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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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Barker H, Chen C. Pandemic Outbreaks and the Language of Violence. Chest 2022; 162:196-201. [PMID: 35305972 PMCID: PMC8925085 DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2022.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought renewed attention to past narratives of disease outbreaks. What do the Black Death and COVID-19 have in common? How we tell outbreak stories is shaped by political, cultural, social, and historical contexts. It is deeply rhetorical. The general public relies on experts (scientists, historians, and government officials) to provide credible information, but uncertainties during an outbreak can make it difficult to provide definitive answers quickly. Experts need to be conscious about the contexts in which their statements would be received. Regarding the Black Death, historians of medicine have relied heavily on a single medieval account of the outbreak, which confirmed their preconceptions about Mongol violence, allowing them to present the Black Death as an instance of biological warfare. Looking at other medieval accounts, however, makes clear that this narrative of Mongol biological warfare is false. Similarly, modern outbreak narratives also tend to use militarized language, which results in othering peoples and cultures where a disease might have originated. Given the contemporary political tensions between China and the United States, narratives about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its transmission have led to a transnational infodemic of misinformation as well as discrimination and violence against people of Asian descent. In light of this long-running pattern, we argue for more interdisciplinary collaborations between the experts whose work is used to build outbreak narratives to adopt more critical rhetorical approaches in communicating with the public.
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24
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Översti S, Palo JU. Variation in the substitution rates among the human mitochondrial haplogroup U sublineages. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6613373. [PMID: 35731946 PMCID: PMC9250076 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac097] [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] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Resolving the absolute timescale of phylogenetic trees stipulates reliable estimates for the rate of DNA sequence evolution. For this end, various calibration methods have been developed and studied intensively. Intraspecific rate variation among distinct genetic lineages, however, has gained less attention. Here, we have assessed lineage-specific molecular rates of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) by performing tip-calibrated Bayesian phylogenetic analyses. Tip-calibration, as opposed to traditional nodal time stamps from dated fossil evidence or geological events, is based on sample ages and becoming ever more feasible as ancient DNA data from radiocarbon-dated samples accumulate. We focus on subhaplogroups U2, U4, U5a, and U5b, the data including ancient mtDNA genomes from 14C-dated samples (n = 234), contemporary genomes (n = 301), and two outgroup sequences from haplogroup R. The obtained molecular rates depended on the data sets (with or without contemporary sequences), suggesting time-dependency. More notable was the rate variation between haplogroups: U4 and U5a stand out having a substantially higher rate than U5b. This is also reflected in the divergence times obtained (U5a: 17,700 years and U5b: 29,700 years), a disparity not reported previously. After ruling out various alternative causes (e.g., selection, sampling, and sequence quality), we propose that the substitution rates have been influenced by demographic histories, widely different among populations where U4/U5a or U5b are frequent. As with the Y-chromosomal subhaplogroup R1b, the mitochondrial U4 and U5a have been associated with remarkable range extensions of the Yamnaya culture in the Bronze Age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanni Översti
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification and Evolution Group, Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany Kahlaische Straße 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland P.O. Box 56, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jukka U Palo
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland P.O. Box 40, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.,Forensic Chemistry Unit, Forensic Genetics Team, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland P.O. Box 30, FI-00271, Helsinki, Finland
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25
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Cessford C, Hall A, Mulder B, Neil B, Riddler I, Wiles J, Cameron E, Mould Q. Buried with their Buckles On: Clothed Burial at the Augustinian Friary, Cambridge. MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY 2022; 66:151-187. [PMID: 35722222 PMCID: PMC9197221 DOI: 10.1080/00766097.2022.2065066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
GIRDLE BUCKLES ASSOCIATED with several groups of burials at the later-medieval Augustinian friary in Cambridge indicate that clothed burial was common, with a much higher prevalence than usual for the period. The clothed burial was highly regularised, in terms of both the garments worn and the types of buckles used, and apparently limited to members of the Augustinian Order. The buckles were primarily supplied by the friary, rather than representing individual choices, and there is evidence that the girdles that individuals were buried with were those they used in life. These buckles functioned on several levels, as symbols of both corporate and personal identity. Discoveries at other English Augustinian friaries demonstrate specific typological parallels, indicating broader connections, networks and identities. Although buckles are common late-medieval items, those from the Cambridge Augustinian friary present a unique opportunity to contextualise their use by one segment of society.
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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] [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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27
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Emergence and spread of ancestral Yersinia pestis in Late-Neolithic and Bronze-Age Eurasia, ca. 5,000 to 1,500 y B.P. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2204044119. [PMID: 35580179 PMCID: PMC9172127 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204044119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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28
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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: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [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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29
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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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30
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Central Mongolian lake sediments reveal new insights on climate change and equestrian empires in the Eastern Steppes. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2829. [PMID: 35181711 PMCID: PMC8857271 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06659-w] [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: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The repeated expansion of East Asian steppe cultures was a key driver of Eurasian history, forging new social, economic, and biological links across the continent. Climate has been suggested as important driver of these poorly understood cultural expansions, but paleoclimate records from the Mongolian Plateau often suffer from poor age control or ambiguous proxy interpretation. Here, we use a combination of geochemical analyses and comprehensive radiocarbon dating to establish the first robust and detailed record of paleohydrological conditions for Lake Telmen, Mongolia, covering the past ~ 4000 years. Our record shows that humid conditions coincided with solar minima, and hydrological modeling confirms the high sensitivity of the lake to paleoclimate changes. Careful comparisons with archaeological and historical records suggest that in the vast semi-arid grasslands of eastern Eurasia, solar minima led to reduced temperatures, less evaporation, and high biomass production, expanding the power base for pastoral economies and horse cavalry. Our findings suggest a crucial link between temperature dynamics in the Eastern Steppe and key social developments, such as the emergence of pastoral empires, and fuel concerns that global warming enhances water scarcity in the semi-arid regions of interior Eurasia.
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Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:297-306. [PMID: 35145268 PMCID: PMC8913360 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01652-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The Black Death (1347–1352 ce) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe’s population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic’s causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, ‘big data palaeoecology’, which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death’s mortality on a regional scale across Europe. We collected pollen data on landscape change from 261 radiocarbon-dated coring sites (lakes and wetlands) located across 19 modern-day European countries. We used two independent methods of analysis to evaluate whether the changes we see in the landscape at the time of the Black Death agree with the hypothesis that a large portion of the population, upwards of half, died within a few years in the 21 historical regions we studied. While we can confirm that the Black Death had a devastating impact in some regions, we found that it had negligible or no impact in others. These inter-regional differences in the Black Death’s mortality across Europe demonstrate the significance of cultural, ecological, economic, societal and climatic factors that mediated the dissemination and impact of the disease. The complex interplay of these factors, along with the historical ecology of plague, should be a focus of future research on historical pandemics. Historical accounts of the mortality outcomes of the Black Death plague pandemic are variable across Europe, with much higher death tolls suggested in some areas than others. Here the authors use a ‘big data palaeoecology’ approach to show that land use change following the pandemic was spatially variable across Europe, confirming heterogeneous responses with empirical data.
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32
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Barbieri R, Nodari R, Signoli M, Epis S, Raoult D, Drancourt M. Differential word expression analyses highlight plague dynamics during the second pandemic. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:210039. [PMID: 35070338 PMCID: PMC8728171 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Research on the second plague pandemic that swept over Europe from the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries mainly relies on the exegesis of contemporary texts and is prone to interpretive bias. By leveraging certain bioinformatic tools routinely used in biology, we developed a quantitative lexicography of 32 texts describing two major plague outbreaks, using contemporary plague-unrelated texts as negative controls. Nested, network and category analyses of a 207-word pan-lexicome, comprising overrepresented terms in plague-related texts, indicated that 'buboes' and 'carbuncles' are words that were significantly associated with the plague and signalled an ectoparasite-borne plague. Moreover, plague-related words were associated with the terms 'merchandise', 'movable', 'tatters', 'bed' and 'clothes'. Analysing ancient texts using the method reported in this paper can certify plague-related historical records and indicate the particularities of each plague outbreak, which can inform on the potential sources for the causative Yersinia pestis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Barbieri
- Aix Marseille Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille 13005, France
- UMR 7268, Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, Aix Marseille Univ, 11 CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille 13344, France
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Riccardo Nodari
- Department of Biosciences and Pediatric Clinical Research Center ‘Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi’, University of Milan, Milan 20133, Italy
| | - Michel Signoli
- UMR 7268, Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, Aix Marseille Univ, 11 CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille 13344, France
| | - Sara Epis
- Department of Biosciences and Pediatric Clinical Research Center ‘Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi’, University of Milan, Milan 20133, Italy
| | - Didier Raoult
- Aix Marseille Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille 13005, France
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille 13005, France
| | - Michel Drancourt
- Aix Marseille Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille 13005, France
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille 13005, France
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33
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Gupta R, Ambasta RK, Pravir Kumar. Autophagy and apoptosis cascade: which is more prominent in neuronal death? Cell Mol Life Sci 2021; 78:8001-8047. [PMID: 34741624 PMCID: PMC11072037 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-04004-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Autophagy and apoptosis are two crucial self-destructive processes that maintain cellular homeostasis, which are characterized by their morphology and regulated through signal transduction mechanisms. These pathways determine the fate of cellular organelle and protein involved in human health and disease such as neurodegeneration, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Cell death pathways share common molecular mechanisms, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, calcium ion concentration, reactive oxygen species, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Some key signaling molecules such as p53 and VEGF mediated angiogenic pathway exhibit cellular and molecular responses resulting in the triggering of apoptotic and autophagic pathways. Herein, based on previous studies, we describe the intricate relation between cell death pathways through their common genes and the role of various stress-causing agents. Further, extensive research on autophagy and apoptotic machinery excavates the implementation of selective biomarkers, for instance, mTOR, Bcl-2, BH3 family members, caspases, AMPK, PI3K/Akt/GSK3β, and p38/JNK/MAPK, in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. This molecular phenomenon will lead to the discovery of possible therapeutic biomolecules as a pharmacological intervention that are involved in the modulation of apoptosis and autophagy pathways. Moreover, we describe the potential role of micro-RNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and biomolecules as therapeutic agents that regulate cell death machinery to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Mounting evidence demonstrated that under stress conditions, such as calcium efflux, endoplasmic reticulum stress, the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and oxidative stress intermediate molecules, namely p53 and VEGF, activate and cause cell death. Further, activation of p53 and VEGF cause alteration in gene expression and dysregulated signaling pathways through the involvement of signaling molecules, namely mTOR, Bcl-2, BH3, AMPK, MAPK, JNK, and PI3K/Akt, and caspases. Alteration in gene expression and signaling cascades cause neurotoxicity and misfolded protein aggregates, which are characteristics features of neurodegenerative diseases. Excessive neurotoxicity and misfolded protein aggregates lead to neuronal cell death by activating death pathways like autophagy and apoptosis. However, autophagy has a dual role in the apoptosis pathways, i.e., activation and inhibition of the apoptosis signaling. Further, micro-RNAs and LncRNAs act as pharmacological regulators of autophagy and apoptosis cascade, whereas, natural compounds and chemical compounds act as pharmacological inhibitors that rescue neuronal cell death through inhibition of apoptosis and autophagic cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohan Gupta
- Molecular Neuroscience and Functional Genomics Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering Building, Delhi Technological University (Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), Room# FW4TF3, Shahbad Daulatpur, Bawana Road, Delhi, 110042, India
| | - Rashmi K Ambasta
- Molecular Neuroscience and Functional Genomics Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering Building, Delhi Technological University (Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), Room# FW4TF3, Shahbad Daulatpur, Bawana Road, Delhi, 110042, India
| | - Pravir Kumar
- Molecular Neuroscience and Functional Genomics Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering Building, Delhi Technological University (Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), Room# FW4TF3, Shahbad Daulatpur, Bawana Road, Delhi, 110042, India.
- , Delhi, India.
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Harouna Hamidou Z, Mamadou S, Saad J. Molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto in the soil of Niger. New Microbes New Infect 2021; 44:100939. [PMID: 34621525 PMCID: PMC8479474 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2021.100939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex is comprising of pathogenic mycobacteria responsible for human and animal tuberculosis, a major public health problem in Niger. Although infected individuals are paramount sources of contamination, nevertheless alternative, neglected sources may play some role in minority forms of the infection. Accordingly, we investigated the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in soil samples in Niger. A total of 103 soil samples were collected in six different areas in Niger in October and November 2018 and April and May 2020 from residential areas of tuberculosis patients. Screening PCR targeting M. tuberculosis complex CRISPR-Csm4 and Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay were applied to detect the M. tuberculosis complex. M. tuberculosis DNA was positively detected in five of 103 (5/103; 4.8%) soil samples (Dosso: one sample, Zinder: one sample and Niamey: three samples) using the CRISPR-Csm4 system. CRISPR-Csm4 gene sequence identified four M. tuberculosis sensu stricto (may be lineages 1, 3 or 4) and one M. tuberculosis L2 lineage (Beijing). Moreover, the five positive samples were confirmed by Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay as rifampicin-susceptible M. tuberculosis complex strains. However, culture remained negative after 42 days. In this study, we announced for the first time the presence of M. tuberculosis sensu stricto in the soil of Niger. Moreover, these detected lineages were identical to the dominant M. tuberculosis lineages in patients. The presence of common lineages of M. tuberculosis between the soil and human highlight the risk of transmission from the soil to human.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Harouna Hamidou
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Aix-Marseille-Université, IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- Laboratoire National de Référence des IST/VIH et de la Tuberculose, Niamey, Niger
| | - S Mamadou
- Laboratoire National de Référence des IST/VIH et de la Tuberculose, Niamey, Niger
| | - J Saad
- IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
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Mahmoudi A, Kryštufek B, Sludsky A, Schmid BV, DE Almeida AMP, Lei X, Ramasindrazana B, Bertherat E, Yeszhanov A, Stenseth NC, Mostafavi E. Plague reservoir species throughout the world. Integr Zool 2021; 16:820-833. [PMID: 33264458 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Plague has been known since ancient times as a re-emerging infectious disease, causing considerable socioeconomic burden in regional hotspots. To better understand the epidemiological cycle of the causative agent of the plague, its potential occurrence, and possible future dispersion, one must carefully consider the taxonomy, distribution, and ecological requirements of reservoir-species in relation either to natural or human-driven changes (e.g. climate change or urbanization). In recent years, the depth of knowledge on species taxonomy and species composition in different landscapes has undergone a dramatic expansion, driven by modern taxonomic methods such as synthetic surveys that take into consideration morphology, genetics, and the ecological setting of captured animals to establish their species identities. Here, we consider the recent taxonomic changes of the rodent species in known plague reservoirs and detail their distribution across the world, with a particular focus on those rodents considered to be keystone host species. A complete checklist of all known plague-infectable vertebrates living in plague foci is provided as a Supporting Information table.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Mahmoudi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Urmia University, Iran
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Alexander Sludsky
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute «Microbe», Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Boris V Schmid
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Xu Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management on Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Eric Bertherat
- Department of Infectious Hazard Management, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Aidyn Yeszhanov
- M.Aikimbaev's National Scientific Center for Especially Dangerous Infections, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Nils Chr Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ehsan Mostafavi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
- National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, Kabudar Ahang, Hamadan, Iran
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Calvignac-Spencer S, Düx A, Gogarten JF, Patrono LV. Molecular archeology of human viruses. Adv Virus Res 2021; 111:31-61. [PMID: 34663498 DOI: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2021.07.002] [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: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of human-virus associations is usually reconstructed from contemporary patterns of genomic diversity. An intriguing, though still rarely implemented, alternative is to search for the genetic material of viruses in archeological and medical archive specimens to document evolution as it happened. In this chapter, we present lessons from ancient DNA research and incorporate insights from virology to explore the potential range of applications and likely limitations of archeovirological approaches. We also highlight the numerous questions archeovirology will hopefully allow us to tackle in the near future, and the main expected roadblocks to these avenues of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany; Viral Evolution, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Ariane Düx
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany; Viral Evolution, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan F Gogarten
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany; Viral Evolution, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Livia V Patrono
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany
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Newfield TP. Syndemics and the history of disease: Towards a new engagement. Soc Sci Med 2021; 295:114454. [PMID: 34627635 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Historians of medicine and disease have yet to think through a syndemic lens. This commentary aims to point out why they should. Although there are several hurdles to overcome, our histories of disease and our understanding of current syndemics both stand to gain should historians begin to explore episodes of cooccurring diseases that share root causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy P Newfield
- Department of History, Department of Biology, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets NW, ICC 600, Washington, DC, 20057, USA.
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Granehäll L, Huang KD, Tett A, Manghi P, Paladin A, O’Sullivan N, Rota-Stabelli O, Segata N, Zink A, Maixner F. Metagenomic analysis of ancient dental calculus reveals unexplored diversity of oral archaeal Methanobrevibacter. MICROBIOME 2021; 9:197. [PMID: 34593021 PMCID: PMC8485483 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01132-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dental calculus (mineralised dental plaque) preserves many types of microfossils and biomolecules, including microbial and host DNA, and ancient calculus are thus an important source of information regarding our ancestral human oral microbiome. In this study, we taxonomically characterised the dental calculus microbiome from 20 ancient human skeletal remains originating from Trentino-South Tyrol, Italy, dating from the Neolithic (6000-3500 BCE) to the Early Middle Ages (400-1000 CE). RESULTS We found a high abundance of the archaeal genus Methanobrevibacter in the calculus. However, only a fraction of the sequences showed high similarity to Methanobrevibacter oralis, the only described Methanobrevibacter species in the human oral microbiome so far. To further investigate the diversity of this genus, we used de novo metagenome assembly to reconstruct 11 Methanobrevibacter genomes from the ancient calculus samples. Besides the presence of M. oralis in one of the samples, our phylogenetic analysis revealed two hitherto uncharacterised and unnamed oral Methanobrevibacter species that are prevalent in ancient calculus samples sampled from a broad range of geographical locations and time periods. CONCLUSIONS We have shown the potential of using de novo metagenomic assembly on ancient samples to explore microbial diversity and evolution. Our study suggests that there has been a possible shift in the human oral microbiome member Methanobrevibacter over the last millennia. Video abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Granehäll
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Biology II, Anthropology and Human Genomics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Kun D. Huang
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
- Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy
| | - Adrian Tett
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
- CUBE - Division of Computational Systems Biology, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Paolo Manghi
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Alice Paladin
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Niall O’Sullivan
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Omar Rota-Stabelli
- Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy
- Center Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Nicola Segata
- CIBIO Department, University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
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Origin, transmission, and evolution of plague over 400 y in Europe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2114241118. [PMID: 34551981 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2114241118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Bramanti B, Wu Y, Yang R, Cui Y, Stenseth NC. Assessing the origins of the European Plagues following the Black Death: A synthesis of genomic, historical, and ecological information. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2101940118. [PMID: 34465619 PMCID: PMC8433512 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2101940118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The second plague pandemic started in Europe with the Black Death in 1346 and lasted until the 19th century. Based on ancient DNA studies, there is a scientific disagreement over whether the bacterium, Yersinia pestis, came into Europe once (Hypothesis 1) or repeatedly over the following four centuries (Hypothesis 2). Here, we synthesize the most updated phylogeny together with historical, archeological, evolutionary, and ecological information. On the basis of this holistic view, we conclude that Hypothesis 2 is the most plausible. We also suggest that Y. pestis lineages might have developed attenuated virulence during transmission, which can explain the convergent evolutionary signals, including pla decay, that appeared at the end of the pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Bramanti
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway;
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Prevention, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Yarong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yujun Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China;
| | - Nils Chr Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway;
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Duchêne S, Ho SYW, Carmichael AG, Holmes EC, Poinar H. The Recovery, Interpretation and Use of Ancient Pathogen Genomes. Curr Biol 2021; 30:R1215-R1231. [PMID: 33022266 PMCID: PMC7534838 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The ability to sequence genomes from ancient biological material has provided a rich source of information for evolutionary biology and engaged considerable public interest. Although most studies of ancient genomes have focused on vertebrates, particularly archaic humans, newer technologies allow the capture of microbial pathogens and microbiomes from ancient and historical human and non-human remains. This coming of age has been made possible by techniques that allow the preferential capture and amplification of discrete genomes from a background of predominantly host and environmental DNA. There are now near-complete ancient genome sequences for three pathogens of considerable historical interest — pre-modern bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis), smallpox (Variola virus) and cholera (Vibrio cholerae) — and for three equally important endemic human disease agents — Mycobacterium tuberculosis (tuberculosis), Mycobacterium leprae (leprosy) and Treponema pallidum pallidum (syphilis). Genomic data from these pathogens have extended earlier work by paleopathologists. There have been efforts to sequence the genomes of additional ancient pathogens, with the potential to broaden our understanding of the infectious disease burden common to past populations from the Bronze Age to the early 20th century. In this review we describe the state-of-the-art of this rapidly developing field, highlight the contributions of ancient pathogen genomics to multidisciplinary endeavors and describe some of the limitations in resolving questions about the emergence and long-term evolution of pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastián Duchêne
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
| | - Simon Y W Ho
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | | | - Edward C Holmes
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Hendrik Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada; Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Humans and the Microbiome Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada.
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42
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Haller M, Bonczarowska JH, Rieger D, Lenz TL, Nebel A, Krause-Kyora B. Ancient DNA Study in Medieval Europeans Shows an Association Between HLA-DRB1*03 and Paratyphoid Fever. Front Immunol 2021; 12:691475. [PMID: 34335597 PMCID: PMC8320744 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.691475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Outbreaks of infectious diseases repeatedly affected medieval Europe, leaving behind a large number of dead often inhumed in mass graves. Human remains interred in two burial pits from 14th century CE Germany exhibited molecular evidence of Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C (S. Paratyphi C) infection. The pathogen is responsible for paratyphoid fever, which was likely the cause of death for the buried individuals. This finding presented the unique opportunity to conduct a paratyphoid fever association study in a European population. We focused on HLA-DRB1*03:01 that is a known risk allele for enteric fever in present-day South Asians. We generated HLA profiles for 29 medieval S. Paratyphi C cases and 24 contemporaneous controls and compared these to a modern German population. The frequency of the risk allele was higher in the medieval cases (29.6%) compared to the contemporaneous controls (13%; p = 0.189), albeit not significantly so, possibly because of small sample sizes. Indeed, in comparison with the modern controls (n = 39,689; 10.2%; p = 0.005) the frequency difference became statistically significant. This comparison also suggested a slight decrease in the allele’s prevalence between the medieval and modern controls. Up to now, this is the first study on the genetic predisposition to Salmonella infection in Europeans and the only association analysis on paratyphoid fever C. Functional investigation using computational binding prediction between HLA variants and S. Paratyphi and S. Typhi peptides supported a reduced recognition capacity of bacterial proteins by DRB1*03:01 relative to other common DRB1 variants. This pattern could potentially explain the disease association. Our results suggest a slightly reduced predisposition to paratyphoid fever in modern Europeans. The causative allele, however, is still common today, which can be explained by a trade-off, as DRB1*03:01 is protective against infectious respiratory diseases such as severe respiratory syndrome (SARS). It is thus possible that the allele also provided resistance to corona-like viruses in the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Haller
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Dirk Rieger
- Department of Archaeology, Hanseatic City of Lübeck Historic Monuments Protection Authority, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Tobias L Lenz
- Research Group for Evolutionary Immunogenomics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.,Research Unit for Evolutionary Immunogenomics, Department of Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Almut Nebel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Ben Krause-Kyora
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
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Krauer F, Viljugrein H, Dean KR. The influence of temperature on the seasonality of historical plague outbreaks. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202725. [PMID: 34255997 PMCID: PMC8277479 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern plague outbreaks exhibit a distinct seasonal pattern. By contrast, the seasonality of historical outbreaks and its drivers has not been studied systematically. Here, we investigate the seasonal pattern, the epidemic peak timing and growth rates, and the association with latitude, temperature, and precipitation using a large, novel dataset of plague- and all-cause mortality during the Second Pandemic in Europe and the Mediterranean. We show that epidemic peak timing followed a latitudinal gradient, with mean annual temperature negatively associated with peak timing. Based on modern temperature data, the predicted epidemic growth of all outbreaks was positive between 11.7°C and 21.5°C with a maximum around 17.3°C. Hence, our study provides evidence that the growth of plague epidemics across the whole study region depended on similar absolute temperature thresholds. Here, we present a systematic analysis of the seasonality of historical plague in the Northern Hemisphere, and we show consistent evidence for a temperature-related process influencing the epidemic peak timing and growth rates of plague epidemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabienne Krauer
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis CEES, University of Oslo, Norway
- Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases CMMID, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Hildegunn Viljugrein
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis CEES, University of Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Ås, Norway
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Turner WC, Kamath PL, van Heerden H, Huang YH, Barandongo ZR, Bruce SA, Kausrud K. The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence-transmission relationships. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210088. [PMID: 34109041 PMCID: PMC8170194 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Disease outbreaks are a consequence of interactions among the three components of a host-parasite system: the infectious agent, the host and the environment. While virulence and transmission are widely investigated, most studies of parasite life-history trade-offs are conducted with theoretical models or tractable experimental systems where transmission is standardized and the environment controlled. Yet, biotic and abiotic environmental factors can strongly affect disease dynamics, and ultimately, host-parasite coevolution. Here, we review research on how environmental context alters virulence-transmission relationships, focusing on the off-host portion of the parasite life cycle, and how variation in parasite survival affects the evolution of virulence and transmission. We review three inter-related 'approaches' that have dominated the study of the evolution of virulence and transmission for different host-parasite systems: (i) evolutionary trade-off theory, (ii) parasite local adaptation and (iii) parasite phylodynamics. These approaches consider the role of the environment in virulence and transmission evolution from different angles, which entail different advantages and potential biases. We suggest improvements to how to investigate virulence-transmission relationships, through conceptual and methodological developments and taking environmental context into consideration. By combining developments in life-history evolution, phylogenetics, adaptive dynamics and comparative genomics, we can improve our understanding of virulence-transmission relationships across a diversity of host-parasite systems that have eluded experimental study of parasite life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy C. Turner
- US Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Pauline L. Kamath
- School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Henriette van Heerden
- Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
| | - Yen-Hua Huang
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Zoe R. Barandongo
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Spencer A. Bruce
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Kyrre Kausrud
- Section for Epidemiology, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Ullevålsveien 68, 0454 Oslo, Norway
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Susat J, Lübke H, Immel A, Brinker U, Macāne A, Meadows J, Steer B, Tholey A, Zagorska I, Gerhards G, Schmölcke U, Kalniņš M, Franke A, Pētersone-Gordina E, Teßman B, Tõrv M, Schreiber S, Andree C, Bērziņš V, Nebel A, Krause-Kyora B. A 5,000-year-old hunter-gatherer already plagued by Yersinia pestis. Cell Rep 2021; 35:109278. [PMID: 34192537 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A 5,000-year-old Yersinia pestis genome (RV 2039) is reconstructed from a hunter-fisher-gatherer (5300-5050 cal BP) buried at Riņņukalns, Latvia. RV 2039 is the first in a series of ancient strains that evolved shortly after the split of Y. pestis from its antecessor Y. pseudotuberculosis ∼7,000 years ago. The genomic and phylogenetic characteristics of RV 2039 are consistent with the hypothesis that this very early Y. pestis form was most likely less transmissible and maybe even less virulent than later strains. Our data do not support the scenario of a prehistoric pneumonic plague pandemic, as suggested previously for the Neolithic decline. The geographical and temporal distribution of the few prehistoric Y. pestis cases reported so far is more in agreement with single zoonotic events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Susat
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Harald Lübke
- Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA), Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation Schloss Gottorf, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
| | - Alexander Immel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ute Brinker
- Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA), Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation Schloss Gottorf, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
| | - Aija Macāne
- Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 200, SE405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - John Meadows
- Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA), Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation Schloss Gottorf, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany; Leibniz Laboratory for AMS Dating and Isotope Research, Kiel University, Max-Eyth-Str. 11-13, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Britta Steer
- Systematic Proteomics & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Niemannsweg 11, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Andreas Tholey
- Systematic Proteomics & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Kiel University, Niemannsweg 11, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ilga Zagorska
- Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Kalpaka bulv. 4, 1050 Riga, Latvia
| | - Guntis Gerhards
- Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Kalpaka bulv. 4, 1050 Riga, Latvia
| | - Ulrich Schmölcke
- Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology (ZBSA), Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation Schloss Gottorf, Schlossinsel 1, 24837 Schleswig, Germany
| | - Mārcis Kalniņš
- Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Kalpaka bulv. 4, 1050 Riga, Latvia
| | - Andre Franke
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Barbara Teßman
- Berlin Society of Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory, c/o Museum of Pre- and Protohistory, Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mari Tõrv
- Department of Archaeology, Institute of History and Archaeology, University of Tartu, Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Stefan Schreiber
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany; Department of General Internal Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Christian Andree
- Research Center of Medical History, Kiel University, Breiter Weg 10, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Valdis Bērziņš
- Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Kalpaka bulv. 4, 1050 Riga, Latvia
| | - Almut Nebel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ben Krause-Kyora
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Str. 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
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Immel A, Key FM, Szolek A, Barquera R, Robinson MK, Harrison GF, Palmer WH, Spyrou MA, Susat J, Krause-Kyora B, Bos KI, Forrest S, Hernández-Zaragoza DI, Sauter J, Solloch U, Schmidt AH, Schuenemann VJ, Reiter E, Kairies MS, Weiß R, Arnold S, Wahl J, Hollenbach JA, Kohlbacher O, Herbig A, Norman PJ, Krause J. Analysis of genomic DNA from medieval plague victims suggests long-term effect of Yersinia pestis on human immunity genes. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:4059-4076. [PMID: 34002224 PMCID: PMC8476174 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogens and associated outbreaks of infectious disease exert selective pressure on human populations, and any changes in allele frequencies that result may be especially evident for genes involved in immunity. In this regard, the 1346-1353 Yersinia pestis-caused Black Death pandemic, with continued plague outbreaks spanning several hundred years, is one of the most devastating recorded in human history. To investigate the potential impact of Y. pestis on human immunity genes we extracted DNA from 36 plague victims buried in a mass grave in Ellwangen, Germany in the 16th century. We targeted 488 immune-related genes, including HLA, using a novel in-solution hybridization capture approach. In comparison with 50 modern native inhabitants of Ellwangen, we find differences in allele frequencies for variants of the innate immunity proteins Ficolin-2 and NLRP14 at sites involved in determining specificity. We also observed that HLA-DRB1*13 is more than twice as frequent in the modern population, whereas HLA-B alleles encoding an isoleucine at position 80 (I-80+), HLA C*06:02 and HLA-DPB1 alleles encoding histidine at position 9 are half as frequent in the modern population. Simulations show that natural selection has likely driven these allele frequency changes. Thus, our data suggests that allele frequencies of HLA genes involved in innate and adaptive immunity responsible for extracellular and intracellular responses to pathogenic bacteria, such as Y. pestis, could have been affected by the historical epidemics that occurred in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Immel
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Strasse 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany.,Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Felix M Key
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - András Szolek
- Applied Bioinformatics, Dept. for Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rodrigo Barquera
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Madeline K Robinson
- Division of Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine, and Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado, CO 80045, USA
| | - Genelle F Harrison
- Division of Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine, and Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado, CO 80045, USA
| | - William H Palmer
- Division of Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine, and Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado, CO 80045, USA
| | - Maria A Spyrou
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Julian Susat
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Strasse 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ben Krause-Kyora
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Rosalind-Franklin-Strasse 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Kirsten I Bos
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stephen Forrest
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Diana I Hernández-Zaragoza
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Immunogenetics Unit, Técnicas Genéticas Aplicadas a la Clínica (TGAC), Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | | | - Verena J Schuenemann
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.,Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ella Reiter
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.,Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Madita S Kairies
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, WG Palaeoanthropology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rainer Weiß
- State Office for Cultural Heritage Management, Stuttgart Regional Council, Berliner Strasse 12, 73728 Esslingen, Germany
| | - Susanne Arnold
- State Office for Cultural Heritage Management, Stuttgart Regional Council, Berliner Strasse 12, 73728 Esslingen, Germany
| | - Joachim Wahl
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, WG Palaeoanthropology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.,State Office for Cultural Heritage Management, Stuttgart Regional Council, Berliner Strasse 12, 73728 Esslingen, Germany
| | - Jill A Hollenbach
- UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Oliver Kohlbacher
- Applied Bioinformatics, Dept. for Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,Quantitative Biology Center, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,Translational Bioinformatics, University Hospital Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,Biomolecular Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck-Ring 5, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Herbig
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Paul J Norman
- Division of Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine, and Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado, CO 80045, USA
| | - Johannes Krause
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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47
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Seguin-Orlando A, Costedoat C, Der Sarkissian C, Tzortzis S, Kamel C, Telmon N, Dalén L, Thèves C, Signoli M, Orlando L. No particular genomic features underpin the dramatic economic consequences of 17 th century plague epidemics in Italy. iScience 2021; 24:102383. [PMID: 33981971 PMCID: PMC8082092 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The 17th century plague epidemic had a particularly strong demographic toll in Southern Europe, especially Italy, where it caused long-lasting economical damage. Whether this resulted from ineffective sanitation measures or more pathogenic Yersinia pestis strains remains unknown. DNA screening of 26 skeletons from the 1629-1630 plague cemetery of Lariey (French Alps) identified two teeth rich in plague genetic material. Further sequencing revealed two Y. pestis genomes phylogenetically closest to those from the 1636 outbreak of San Procolo a Naturno, Italy. They both belonged to a cluster extending from the Alps to Northern Germany that probably propagated during the Thirty Years war. Sequence variation did not support faster evolutionary rates in the Italian genomes and revealed only rare private non-synonymous mutations not affecting virulence genes. This, and the more heterogeneous spatial diffusion of the epidemic outside Italy, suggests environmental or social rather than biological causes for the severe Italian epidemic trajectory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andaine Seguin-Orlando
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France.,Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse IAST, Université Toulouse I Capitole, Esplanade de l'Université, 31080 Toulouse cedex 06, France
| | - Caroline Costedoat
- Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Secteur Nord Bâtiment A CS80011, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France
| | - Clio Der Sarkissian
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Stéfan Tzortzis
- Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles de PACA, Service Régional de l'Archéologie, 23 bd du Roi René, 13617 Aix-en-Provence cedex, France
| | - Célia Kamel
- Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Secteur Nord Bâtiment A CS80011, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France
| | - Norbert Telmon
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Love Dalén
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Svante Arrhenius väg 20C, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Catherine Thèves
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Michel Signoli
- Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Secteur Nord Bâtiment A CS80011, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France
| | - Ludovic Orlando
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
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Haller M, Callan K, Susat J, Flux AL, Immel A, Franke A, Herbig A, Krause J, Kupczok A, Fouquet G, Hummel S, Rieger D, Nebel A, Krause-Kyora B. Mass burial genomics reveals outbreak of enteric paratyphoid fever in the Late Medieval trade city Lübeck. iScience 2021; 24:102419. [PMID: 33997698 PMCID: PMC8100618 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Medieval Europe was repeatedly affected by outbreaks of infectious diseases, some of which reached epidemic proportions. A Late Medieval mass burial next to the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital in Lübeck (present-day Germany) contained the skeletal remains of more than 800 individuals who had presumably died from infectious disease. From 92 individuals, we screened the ancient DNA extracts for the presence of pathogens to determine the cause of death. Metagenomic analysis revealed evidence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Paratyphi C, suggesting an outbreak of enteric paratyphoid fever. Three reconstructed S. Paratyphi C genomes showed close similarity to a strain from Norway (1200 CE). Radiocarbon dates placed the disease outbreak in Lübeck between 1270 and 1400 cal CE, with historical records indicating 1367 CE as the most probable year. The deceased were of northern and eastern European descent, confirming Lübeck as an important trading center of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic region. Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C detected in remains from a mass burial in Lübeck Outbreak of enteric paratyphoid fever likely occurred in 1367 CE Pathogen genomes showed close similarity to a strain from Norway (1200 CE)
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Haller
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Kimberly Callan
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany.,Present address: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Julian Susat
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Anna Lena Flux
- Department of Historical Anthropology and Human Ecology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Immel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Andre Franke
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Alexander Herbig
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Anne Kupczok
- Genomic Microbiology Group, Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany.,Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gerhard Fouquet
- Historical Seminar, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Susanne Hummel
- Department of Historical Anthropology and Human Ecology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dirk Rieger
- Department of Archaeology, Hanseatic City of Lübeck Historical Monuments Protection Authority, 23539 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Almut Nebel
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Ben Krause-Kyora
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, Germany
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49
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Pisarenko SV, Evchenko AY, Kovalev DA, Evchenko YМ, Bobrysheva OV, Shapakov NA, Volynkina AS, Kulichenko AN. Yersinia pestis strains isolated in natural plague foci of Caucasus and Transcaucasia in the context of the global evolution of species. Genomics 2021; 113:1952-1961. [PMID: 33862185 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plague is a highly dangerous vector-borne infectious disease that has left a significant mark on history of humankind. There are 13 natural plague foci in the Caucasus, located on the territory of the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. We performed whole-genome sequencing of Y. pestis strains, isolated in the natural foci of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Using the data of whole-genome SNP analysis and Bayesian phylogeny methods, we carried out an evolutionary-phylogeographic analysis of modern population of the plague pathogen in order to determine the phylogenetic relationships of Y. pestis strains from the Caucasus with the strains from other countries. RESULTS We used 345 Y. pestis genomes to construct a global evolutionary phylogenetic reconstruction of species based on whole-genome SNP analysis. The genomes of 16 isolates were sequenced in this study, the remaining 329 genomes were obtained from the GenBank database. Analysis of the core genome revealed 3315 SNPs that allow differentiation of strains. The evolutionary phylogeographic analysis showed that the studied Y. pestis strains belong to the genetic lineages 0.PE2, 2.MED0, and 2.MED1. It was shown that the Y. pestis strains isolated on the territory of the East Caucasian high-mountain, the Transcaucasian high-mountain and the Priaraksinsky low-mountain plague foci belong to the most ancient of all existing genetic lineages - 0.PE2. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of the whole-genome SNP analysis of 345 Y. pestis strains, we describe the modern population structure of the plague pathogen and specify the place of the strains isolated in the natural foci of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia in the structure of the global population of Y. pestis. As a result of the retrospective evolutionary-phylogeographic analysis of the current population of the pathogen, we determined the probable time frame of the divergence of the genetic lineages of Y. pestis, as well as suggested the possible paths of the historical spread of the plague pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey V Pisarenko
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation.
| | - Anna Yu Evchenko
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation
| | - Dmitry A Kovalev
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation
| | - Yuri М Evchenko
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation
| | - Olga V Bobrysheva
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation
| | - Nikolay A Shapakov
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation
| | - Anna S Volynkina
- Stavropol Research Anti-Plague Institute, 355035 Stavropol, Russian Federation
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50
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Eroshenko GA, Popov NV, Al’khova ZV, Kukleva LM, Balykova AN, Chervyakova NS, Naryshkina EA, Kutyrev VV. Evolution and circulation of Yersinia pestis in the Northern Caspian and Northern Aral Sea regions in the 20th-21st centuries. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0244615. [PMID: 33571993 PMCID: PMC7878065 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
According to the whole genome SNP analysis of 38 Yersinia pestis strains isolated in the foci of the Northern Caspian and Northern Aral Sea regions in the 20th–early 21st centuries, between 1912 and 2015, the spatial and temporal structure of the 2.MED population of a medieval biovar in this region was determined. A phylogenetic branch 2.MED4 was identified which preceded the 2.MED1 branch that diverged later. 2.MED1 strains became the etiological agent of high-mortality plague outbreaks that occurred in the Northern Caspian region at the beginning of the 20th century. Later in the 20th century, the 2.MED1 branch became widespread in the Caspian Sea region, Caucasus, and vast areas of Central Asia. Based on the data of phylogenetic analysis, as well as epidemiological and epizootiological data, we reconstructed the paths of spread of the 2.MED1 branch in the Northern Caspian Sea region and in the Northern subzone of the Central Asian deserts. It is shown, that the reason for the activation of plague foci in the Northern Caspian region in the second half of the 20th century after a long inter-epizootic period caused by cyclical climate warming was the return of 2.MED1 from the foci of the Northern Aral Sea region. This led to the formation of stable plague foci in the Northern Caspian Sea region and Pre-Caucasus, which manifested epizootic activity in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galina A. Eroshenko
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
- * E-mail:
| | - Nikolay V. Popov
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Zhanna V. Al’khova
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Lyubov M. Kukleva
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Alina N. Balykova
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Nadezhda S. Chervyakova
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Ekaterina A. Naryshkina
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir V. Kutyrev
- Russian Research Anti-Plague Institute “Microbe”, Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, Saratov, Russian Federation
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