Probing the zooarchaeological record across time and space for ancient pathogen DNA
Abstract
Abstract Zoonoses are among the greatest threats to human health, with many zoonotic pathogens believed to have emerged following the Neolithic transition. Palaeomicrobiological investigations of the zooarchaeological record hold potential to uncover the reservoirs, host ranges, and host adaptations of zoonotic pathogens in the past, but face challenges in identifying promising specimens and pathogen DNA preservation. We perform palaeopathological and genetic examinations of 346 skeletal elements from domesticated and wild animals collected from 34 Eurasian sites dating across the last six millennia. We identify 116 signatures of 29 ancient (opportunistic) pathogens and find support that palaeopathological lesions provide guidance for specimen selection. For two pathogen species, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and Streptococcus lutetiensis , we confirm their ancient authenticity using phylogenetics, showcasing an approach to explore the relationship between ancient low-coverage genomes and their modern-day relatives. Our work presents a pathway to understanding prehistoric zoonotic diseases by integrating zooarchaeological, palaeopathological, and genetic data.
Article Details
Authors (33)
Anne Kathrine W. Runge
Ian Light-Maka
Ken Massy
Marcel Keller
Simon Trixl
Helja Kabral
Casey L. Kirkpatrick
Kirsten Bos
Jana Eger
Michal Ernée
René Kyselý
Michael Hochmuth
Dominik Poradowski
Aleksander Chrószcz
Norbert Benecke
David Daněček
Jana Klementová
Anatoli Nagler
Alexey A. Kalmykov
Anatoly R. Kantorovich
Vladimir E. Maslov
Andrey B. Belinskiy
Christiana L. Scheib
Meda Toderaş
Svend Hansen
Philipp W. Stockhammer
Kai Kaniuth
Regina Uhl
Sabine Reinhold
Rosalind E. Gillis
Elizabeth A. Nelson
Kamilla Pawłowska
Felix M. Key
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany.