Plagued for millennia: The complex transmission and ecology of prehistoric Yersinia pestis

Aida Andrades Valtueña; Gunnar U. Neumann; Alexander Herbig

doi:10.25250/thescbr.brk723

Authors

Aida Andrades Valtueña Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1737-2228
Gunnar U. Neumann Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3825-8536
Alexander Herbig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1176-1166

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk723

Keywords:

Plague, Yersinia pestis, human disease, Stone Age, ancient DNA

Abstract

The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis is known as one of the most infamous and deadliest pathogens in human history. Using archaeogenetics we reconstructed 17 ancient genomes from the late Neolithic and Bronze Age in Eurasia to explore its early diversity and evolution. Our data suggest ecological differences between these prehistoric strains and modern as well as other pandemic Y. pestis strains.

Author Biographies

Aida Andrades Valtueña, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Postdoctoral Researcher
Gunnar U. Neumann, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

PhD Student
Alexander Herbig, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Research Group Leader

Original article reference

Andrades Valtueña, A., Neumann, G. U., Spyrou, M. A., Musralina, L., Aron, F., Beisenov, A., Belinskiy, A. B., Bos, K. I., Buzhilova, A., Conrad, M., Djansugurova, L. B., Dobeš, M., Ernée, M., Fernández-Eraso, J., Frohlich, B., Furmanek, M., Hałuszko, A., Hansen, S., Harney, É., … Herbig, A. (2022). Stone Age Yersinia pestis genomes shed light on the early evolution, diversity, and ecology of plague. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(17). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2116722119