Ancient <i>Yersinia pestis</i> genomes from across Western Europe reveal early diversification during the First Pandemic (541-750).

ABSTRACT: The first historically documented pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis began as the Justinianic Plague in 541 within the Roman Empire and continued as the so-called First Pandemic until 750. Although paleogenomic studies have previously identified the causative agent as Y. pestis, little is known about the bacterium's spread, diversity, and genetic history over the course of the pandemic. To elucidate the microevolution of the bacterium during this time period, we screened human remains from 21 sites in Austria, Britain, Germany, France, and Spain for Y. pestis DNA and reconstructed eight genomes. We present a methodological approach assessing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ancient bacterial genomes, facilitating qualitative analyses of low coverage genomes fr

SUBMITTER: Keller M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6589673 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature