DNA of <i>Mycobacterium leprae</i> detected by PCR in ancient bone

Rafi, Ali; Spigelman, Mark; Stanford, Joseph; Lemma, Eshetu; Donoghue, Helen D.; Zias, Joe

doi:10.1002/oa.1390040403

Cited by 56 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…DNA from the causative organisms, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae, can be detected by speciesspecific PCR, and the initial reports (Spigelman & Lemma 1993;Rafi et al 1994) have been confirmed by many investigators, reviewed by Spigelman & Donoghue (2003). Both pathogens have no known environmental reservoir, so their presence indicates infection, if not active disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Co–infection ofMycobacterium tuberculosisandMycobacterium lepraein human archaeological samples: a possible explanation for the historical decline of leprosy

et al. 2005

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Both leprosy and tuberculosis were prevalent in Europe during the first millennium but thereafter leprosy declined. It is not known why this occurred, but one suggestion is that cross-immunity protected tuberculosis patients from leprosy. To investigate any relationship between the two diseases, selected archaeological samples, dating from the Roman period to the thirteenth century, were examined for both Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA, using PCR. The work was carried out and verified in geographically separate and independent laboratories. Several specimens with palaeopathological signs of leprosy were found to contain DNA from both pathogens, indicating that these diseases coexisted in the past. We suggest that the immunological changes found in multi-bacillary leprosy, in association with the socio-economic impact on those suffering from the disease, led to increased mortality from tuberculosis and therefore to the historical decline in leprosy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Co–infection ofMycobacterium tuberculosisandMycobacterium lepraein human archaeological samples: a possible explanation for the historical decline of leprosy

et al. 2005

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“…Numerous studies now confirm the possibility of extracting and amplifying microbial aDNA from pathogens that may persist within human bones and other tissues (e.g., [6,41]). Microbial DNA disseminated via the bloodstream may become trapped in the mineralized tissue of the skeleton, such as hydroxyapatite, or in protected sites, such as the dental root canal and pulp chamber, where it can Diversity 2017, 9, 46 4 of 30 remain somewhat protected from breakdown.…”

Section: Extraction Of Microbial Adnamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bacterial infections can be recognized in archaeological remains, initially by palaeopathology and more recently by microbial ancient DNA (aDNA) [4][5][6]. M. leprae targets Schwann cells, damaging the nerves, and in late infections further damage is caused by the host immune response.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The growth of this field of paleomicrobiology is summarized in Table 1 for ancient tuberculosis [4,5,9,10,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] and in Table 2 for ancient leprosy [6,11,14,18,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40], highlighting the changes in methodology over time. Detailed information for a range of studies on ancient tuberculosis is provided in Table S1 [4,5,9,10,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]36,.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed information for a range of studies on ancient tuberculosis is provided in Table S1 [4,5,9,10,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]36,. Similarly, studies on ancient leprosy are tabulated in Table S2 [6,[11][12][13][14]18,20,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40]53,[68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Positive Diagnosis of Ancient Leprosy and Tuberculosis Using Ancient DNA and Lipid Biomarkers

et al. 2017

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Diagnosis of leprosy and tuberculosis in archaeological material is most informative when based upon entire genomes. Ancient DNA (aDNA) is often degraded but amplification of specific fragments also provides reliable diagnoses. Cell wall lipid biomarkers can distinguish ancient leprosy from tuberculosis and DNA extraction residues can be utilized. The diagnostic power of combined aDNA and lipid biomarkers is illustrated by key cases of ancient leprosy and/or tuberculosis. Human tuberculosis was demonstrated in a woman and child from Atlit-Yam (~9 ka) in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the 600 BCE Egyptian "Granville" mummy. Both aDNA and lipids confirmed Pleistocene tuberculosis in a~17 ka bison from Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming. Leprosy is exemplified by cases from Winchester (10th-12th centuries CE) and Great Chesterford (5th-6th centuries CE). A mixed infection from Kiskundorozsma, Hungary (7th century CE) allowed lipid biomarkers to assess the relative load of leprosy and tuberculosis. Essential protocols for aDNA amplification and analysis of mycolic, mycolipenic, mycocerosic acid, and phthiocerol lipid biomarkers are summarized. Diagnoses of ancient mycobacterial disease can be extended beyond the reach of whole genomics by combinations of aDNA amplification and lipid biomarkers, with sole use of the latter having the potential to recognize even older cases.

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Sequence analysis of bacterial DNA in the colon of an Andean mummy

Ubaldi

Luciani

Marota

et al. 1998

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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We have isolated DNA from 14 tissue samples from the internal organs of an Andean human mummy (10th-11th century A.D.) and have checked the persistence of the original human and bacterial templates using the following main approaches: 1) amino acid racemization test; 2) quantification of mitochondrial DNA copy number; 3) survey of bacterial DNA in the different organs; 4) sequence analysis of bacterial amplicons of different lengths. The results demonstrate that both the original human DNA and the DNA of the bacteria of the mummy gut are preserved. In particular, sequence analysis of two (respectively 100 and 196 bp in length) libraries of bacterial 16s ribosomal RNA gene amplicons from the mummy colon shows that while the shortest amplicons give only modest and biased indications about the bacterial taxa, the longer amplicons allow the identification several species of the genus Clostridium which are typical of the human colon. This work represents a first example of a methodological approach which is applicable, in principle, to many other natural and artificial mummies and might open the way to the study of the structure of the human microbial ecosystem from prehistory to present.

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DNA of Mycobacterium leprae detected by PCR in ancient bone

Abstract: We report the extraction and amplification of DNA of Mycobacterium leprae, from ancient skeletal material. The significance of the extraction of ancient bacterial DNA is discussed, as are future directions of research into ancient disease.

Cited by 56 publications

References 9 publications

Co–infection ofMycobacterium tuberculosisandMycobacterium lepraein human archaeological samples: a possible explanation for the historical decline of leprosy

Co–infection ofMycobacterium tuberculosisandMycobacterium lepraein human archaeological samples: a possible explanation for the historical decline of leprosy

Positive Diagnosis of Ancient Leprosy and Tuberculosis Using Ancient DNA and Lipid Biomarkers

Sequence analysis of bacterial DNA in the colon of an Andean mummy

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