Analysis of 3800-year-old Yersinia pestis genomes suggests Bronze Age origin for bubonic plague

Maria A. Spyrou (), Rezeda I. Tukhbatova, Chuan-Chao Wang, Aida Andrades Valtueña, Aditya K. Lankapalli, Vitaly V. Kondrashin, Victor A. Tsybin, Aleksandr Khokhlov, Denise Kühnert, Alexander Herbig, Kirsten I. Bos () and Johannes Krause ()
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Maria A. Spyrou: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Rezeda I. Tukhbatova: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Chuan-Chao Wang: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Aida Andrades Valtueña: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Aditya K. Lankapalli: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Vitaly V. Kondrashin: LLC “Gefest”
Victor A. Tsybin: Agency for Preservation of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Samara Region
Aleksandr Khokhlov: Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education
Denise Kühnert: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Alexander Herbig: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Kirsten I. Bos: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Johannes Krause: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The origin of Yersinia pestis and the early stages of its evolution are fundamental subjects of investigation given its high virulence and mortality that resulted from past pandemics. Although the earliest evidence of Y. pestis infections in humans has been identified in Late Neolithic/Bronze Age Eurasia (LNBA 5000–3500y BP), these strains lack key genetic components required for flea adaptation, thus making their mode of transmission and disease presentation in humans unclear. Here, we reconstruct ancient Y. pestis genomes from individuals associated with the Late Bronze Age period (~3800 BP) in the Samara region of modern-day Russia. We show clear distinctions between our new strains and the LNBA lineage, and suggest that the full ability for flea-mediated transmission causing bubonic plague evolved more than 1000 years earlier than previously suggested. Finally, we propose that several Y. pestis lineages were established during the Bronze Age, some of which persist to the present day.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04550-9

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