Presence of the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex (MTBC) in ancient skeletal samples from Ukraine

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Ancient DNA in Service of Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This research aims to investigate biocultural interactions by studying ancient disease among the Tripolye, a Neolithic group dating to 4,900-2,900 calBC, and one of the first agricultural populations in Eastern Europe. The Tripolye lived at higher population densities and had closer contact with bovines than the hunter-gatherers that came before them. This research seeks to provide the biocultural context for tuberculosis transmittance from cattle to humans. The identification of the insertion sequence IS611 has been targeted to identify the presence of tuberculosis. Here I present data that builds upon previous identification using gel electrophoresis with aDNA sequencing analysis to further establish and clarify the specific strain of IS6110 from the site. Gel electrophoresis showed banding patterns of the genetic element suggestive of the presence of IS6110 in three out of four samples of bones with lesions characteristic of tuberculosis. Newly obtained sequencing data elaborates on these findings and provides specific strain identification from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Through this investigation, we can achieve a better understanding of cultural processes on human health, the antiquity of tuberculosis, and European prehistory.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Ancient DNA in Service of Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24134