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New ancient Eastern European Yersinia pestis genomes illuminate the dispersal of plague in Europe

Morozova, Irina; Kasianov, Artem; Bruskin, Sergey; Neukamm, Judith; Molak, Martyna; Batieva, Elena; Pudło, Aleksandra; Rühli, Frank J; Schuenemann, Verena J (2020). New ancient Eastern European Yersinia pestis genomes illuminate the dispersal of plague in Europe. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 375(1812):20190569.

Abstract

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, has been prevalent among humans for at least 5000 years, being accountable for several devastating epidemics in history, including the Black Death. Analyses of the genetic diversity of ancient strains of Y. pestis have shed light on the mechanisms of evolution and the spread of plague in Europe. However, many questions regarding the origins of the pathogen and its long persistence in Europe are still unresolved, especially during the late medieval time period. To address this, we present four newly assembled Y. pestis genomes from Eastern Europe (Poland and Southern Russia), dating from the fifteenth to eighteenth century AD. The analysis of polymorphisms in these genomes and their phylogenetic relationships with other ancient and modern Y. pestis strains may suggest several independent introductions of plague into Eastern Europe or its persistence in different reservoirs. Furthermore, with the reconstruction of a partial Y. pestis genome from rat skeletal remains found in a Polish ossuary, we were able to identify a potential animal reservoir in late medieval Europe. Overall, our results add new information concerning Y. pestis transmission and its evolutionary history in Eastern Europe. This article is part of the theme issue 'Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules'.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Evolutionary Medicine
08 Research Priority Programs > Evolution in Action: From Genomes to Ecosystems
Dewey Decimal Classification:610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Life Sciences > General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Language:English
Date:23 November 2020
Deposited On:06 Oct 2020 07:49
Last Modified:24 Oct 2024 01:35
Publisher:Royal Society Publishing
ISSN:0962-8436
OA Status:Hybrid
Free access at:PubMed ID. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0569
PubMed ID:33012225
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  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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