Abstract
Developments in techniques for identification of pathogen DNA in archaeological samples can expand our resolution of disease detection. Our application of a non-targeted molecular screening tool for the parallel detection of pathogens in historical plague victims from post-medieval Lithuania revealed the presence of more than one active disease in one individual. In addition to Yersinia pestis, we detected and genomically characterized a septic infection of Treponema pallidum pertenue, a subtype of the treponemal disease family recognised as the cause of the tropical disease yaws. Our finding in northern Europe of a disease that is currently restricted to equatorial regions is interpreted within an historical framework of intercontinental trade and potential disease movements. Through this we offer an alternative hypothesis for the history and evolution of the treponemal diseases, and posit that yaws be considered an important contributor to the sudden epidemic of late 15th century Europe that is widely ascribed to syphilis.
Highlights
Developments in techniques for identification of pathogen DNA in archaeological samples can expand our resolution of disease detection
In addition to Yersinia pestis, our analyses succeeded in identifying a disease of the treponemal family, Treponema pallidum pertenue, in one of the four confirmed plague victims
To identify plague victims in the skeletal series, presence of Yersinia pestis DNA in the extract was assessed via a targeted amplification-based quantitative PCR approach for the pestis-specific pla gene of the PCP1 plasmid[19]
Summary
Developments in techniques for identification of pathogen DNA in archaeological samples can expand our resolution of disease detection. Subsequent mapping to the Y. pestis reference after duplicate removal yielded mean coverages of 1.68- to 38.01-fold for all UDG-treated fractions, with the highest amounts identified in individual AGU007, which showed excellent preservation of human DNA (Table 1, Tables S6-S10).
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