By sequencing the deadly pathogens genome, scientists solve a mystery, and learn more about plague strains that still kill today
Researchers extracted DNA of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, from this tooth of a victim of the Plague of Justinian McMaster University
For the first time, researchers have sequenced the full genome of the bacterium that caused a plague that killed millions of people in the 6th century A.D., and discovered to their surprise that the outbreak was caused by a different strain of the same germ that was to blame for the more famous Black Death 800 years later. Their findings offer insight into the genetic factors that influence the virulence of the plague bacterium as well as other pathogens. Estimates vary for the number of people killed by the plague during the so-called Black Death that ravaged Europe from 1347 to 1351. But the number was certainly in the tens of millions; it is thought that as much as half of the entire European population at the time may have been killed by Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the plague. Almost exactly 800 years before the Black Death another plague pandemic swept through what was then the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, reaching its peak in its capital Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) around A.D. 541. It is known as the Plague of Justinian, named for the Byzantine emperor at the time. Again, mortality estimates vary, but were likely also in the tens of millions, with one contemporary account estimating that as many as 100 million people had died. Scientists had determined fairly recently that both the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death were caused by the bacterium Y. pestis, and the full genome of the Black Death strain had been sequenced in 2011. But they didnt know whether both pandemics were caused by the same strain or different strains of the bacterium. To find out, a group of researchers extracted the pathogens DNA from the tooth of one of the Byzantine plagues long-buried victims. They published their findings online January 27th in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Co-author Hendrik Poinar, professor at McMaster University in Ontario, says he was surprised by the results; he had expected that both pandemics were caused by the same strain. In my mind, pretty much all plague [Y. pestis] strains around the world are capable of causing human disease, and if conditions were right, would probably be capable of causing these large pandemics again, says David Wagner, professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and the lead author of the paper. The fact that there were two separate strains that jumped from rats and fleas (which are the usual hosts of the plague bacterium) to humans, causing massive pandemics, underlines the virulence of the Y. pestis bacterium, he says. But although the bacterium may be biologically capable of causing another pandemic, Wagner doesnt think that theres much of a chance of that happening. Whats changed is not the organism. Whats changed is humans and human condition, he says. Hygiene has improved immensely you dont just have rats all over the place like you might have had during the time of the major pandemics. The second reason: antibiotics. Plague is highly susceptible to simple antibiotics, Wagner says. Although this is good news for people living in developed countries, the bacterium is still responsible for thousands of deaths every year in developing countries like Madagascar and Uganda. A lot of times these conditions in these developing countries arent much different, probably, from what the conditions were back during the first two pandemics, says Ken Gage, a plague researcher at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who was not involved in the study. In Madagascar, for example, the black rat is found throughout the island, Wagner notes. The researchers had also hoped to find clues in the Y. pestis genome as to what made this particular strain cause a pandemic that killed millions, whereas other strains have had no such effect on humans. But although they found some genes that might make this strain more virulent, there are no smoking guns, Wagner says. Poinar points out, however, that even the small changes in some regions of the pathogens genome can cause a tremendous physiological effect. He points out one particular region of the genome that has some interesting virulence functions on it. The next step of the research, he says, is isolating those different genes that may be responsible for increased virulence and testing them in controlled settings on rodents.
Read this article:
Black Death Plague Strain Differs from That Which Killed Millions 800 Years Earlier
- ENCODE: Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- 07.05.2010 - The Human Genome [ Coast To Coast AM ] - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- NOVA scienceNOW : 51 - Public Genomes, Algae Fuel, Mystery of the Gakkel Ridge, Yoky Matsuoka - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Vincent T. - Genome (Club Remix) - [Preview] - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Comparing The Human And Chimpanzee Genomes - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Whole Genome Sequencing and Its Impact on Clinical Care - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Carlos Bustamante -- "Reconstructing the Great Human Diasporas from Genome Variation Data" - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- 3 Sad Surprises: The Human Genome Project - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- The RFW interviews Genome - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Science Bulletins: Scientists Peer Inside "Superbug" Genome - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Genome : Live @ Smu's : June 3 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Inoki Genome Federation - Genome 19 - 04 02 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- THE HUMAN GENOME MUSIC PROJECT - CHROMOSOME 1 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Genomic Medicine - Bruce Korf (2012) - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Human Genome's 'Blockbuster' Potential Undervalued in Bid GSK vs HGSI - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Announcing the Completion of the First Survey of the Entire Human Genome at the White House - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- DNA analysis Part I. Genomic Sequencing - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- The Genome Question: Moore vs. Jevons with Bud Mishra - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Genome-Wide Association Studies - Karen Mohlke (2012) - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- New human genome research aids understanding of disease [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- UNC Lineberger scientists lead definition of key lung cancer genome [Last Updated On: September 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 10th, 2012]
- Illumina Announces Expedited Individual Genome Sequencing Service (IGS) [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2012]
- Genome research given a boost with opening of bioscience facility [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2012]
- Re-Imagining Our Genes: ENCODE Project Reveals Genome as an Information Processing System [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2012]
- Illumina unveils upgraded genome sequence service [Last Updated On: September 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 12th, 2012]
- US Personalized Cancer Genome Sequencing Market [Last Updated On: September 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 18th, 2012]
- Yale maps “uncharted” genome regions [Last Updated On: September 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 18th, 2012]
- Research and Markets: US Personalized Cancer Genome Sequencing Market [Last Updated On: September 19th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 19th, 2012]
- 3Qs: New clues to unlocking the genome [Last Updated On: September 19th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 19th, 2012]
- Oyster Genome Pries Open Mollusk Evolutionary Shell [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- Bangladeshi scientist decodes genome of deadly fungus [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- Oyster genome uncover the stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- The oyster genome reveals stress adaptation and complexity of shell formation [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- Diseases of aging map to a few 'hotspots' on the human genome [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- GnuBIO Awarded $4.5 Million in Funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute to Develop Lower Cost Genome ... [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- Oyster genome mystery unravelled [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- Devangshu Datta: What's in a genome [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- Pacific Oyster Genome Shows Stress Adaptation And Complexity Of Shell Formation [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2012]
- UNC Lineberger scientists lead cancer genome analysis of breast cancer [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2012]
- Encoding the human genome [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2012]
- Cancer genome analysis of breast cancer: Team identifies genetic causes and similarity to ovarian cancer [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2012]
- Fungus genome map paves way for 'Snow White' jute variety [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2012]
- New online, open access journal focuses on microbial genome announcements [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- By Simply Sharing, Doctors Could Unlock the Genome's Potential [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- Forget the Cloud—Knome Offers Genome Analysis in a Box [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2012]
- BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center to Offer Clinical Next-Generation Sequencing Services [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2012]
- Holy Bat Virus! Genome Hints At Origin Of SARS-Like Virus [Last Updated On: September 29th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 29th, 2012]
- Community Fundraising Effort Helps Researchers Sequence Parrot Genome [Last Updated On: September 29th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 29th, 2012]
- UMass Med professors are sleuths of the genome [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Knome Introduces the knoSYS™100; First Plug-and-Play Human Genome Interpretation System [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- First large scale trial of whole-genome cancer testing for clinical decision-making reported [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Should You Get Your Genome Mapped? [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Surprising differences between apples and pears [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2012]
- 50-Hour Whole Genome Sequencing Provides Rapid Diagnosis for Children With Genetic Disorders [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- A map of rice genome variation reveals the origin of cultivated rice [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Genome analysis promises hope for breast cancer patients [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Genome Alberta Welcomes Alberta Minister of Enterprise and Advanced Education, Stephen Khan and Federal Minister of ... [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Fifty-hour whole genome sequencing provides rapid diagnosis for children with genetic disorders [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Will Low-Cost Genome Sequencing Open 'Pandora's Box'? [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Genome testing could help individualize treatments [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Would you get your genome tested? [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- The Genome — a Pandora's Box? [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- Fast genome test could help sick newborns [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- In-Depth Genome Analysis Moves Toward The Hospital Bed [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Your Verdict On Getting A Genome Test? Bring It On [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2012]
- Genome-wide study identifies 8 new susceptibility loci for atopic dermatitis [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2012]
- Genome-wide study identifies eight new susceptibility loci for atopic dermatitis [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2012]
- Genome interpreter vies for place in clinical market [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- The $1,000 Genome: A Bait and Switch? [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine Offers First-Ever Course with Whole Genome Sequencing [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- First whole genome sequencing of multiple pancreatic cancer patients has been outlined [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- Cheap genome sequences demand new rules on privacy [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- UConn Gets Grant For Genome Research [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- Inconsistent Genome Privacy Laws Need Toughening, Panel Says [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2012]
- US panel calls for stronger privacy for genome data [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2012]
- Genome Canada Board Appoints New Chair [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2012]
- The $1,000 Genome Is Almost Here- Are We Ready? [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2012]
- Global genome effort seeks genetic roots of disease [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Massive encyclopedia helps explain how the human genome works [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Genome evolution and carbon dioxide dynamics [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]