Evolution of immune genes is associated with the Black Death.

ABSTRACT: Infectious diseases are among the strongest selective pressures driving human evolution^1,2. This includes the single greatest mortality event in recorded history, the first outbreak of the second pandemic of plague, commonly called the Black Death, which was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis³. This pandemic devastated Afro-Eurasia, killing up to 30-50% of the population⁴. To identify loci that may have been under selection during the Black Death, we characterized genetic variation around immune-related genes from 206 ancient DNA extracts, stemming from two different European populations before, during and after the Black Death. Immune loci are strongly enriched for highly differentiated sites relative to a set of non-immune loci, suggesting positive s

SUBMITTER: Klunk J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9580435 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature