Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Selection in an Autochthonous Siberian Population from the 16(th)-19(th) Century.

• Published in: PLoS ONE
• Main Authors: Dabernat, Henri, Thèves, Catherine, Bouakaze, Caroline, Nikolaeva, Dariya, Keyser, Christine, Mokrousov, Igor, Geraut, Annie, Duchesne, Sylvie, Gérard, Patrice, Alekseev, Anatoly N, Crubézy, Eric, Ludes, Bertrand
• Other Authors: Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse (AMIS), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire, Institut de Médecine Légale, Strasbourg, France (IML), Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Institut Pasteur de Saint-Pétersbourg, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), Institut de Médecine Légale Strasbourg, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS), Laboratoire d'Anthropobiologie (LA), École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Institute of Legal Medicine, Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: [SHS.ANTHRO-BIO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Biological anthropology; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Yakut; Yakutia; Siberia
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00967590; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00967590/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00967590/file/2014_Dabernat_et_al._Plos_One.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089877

International audience Tuberculosis is one of most ancient diseases affecting human populations. Although numerous studies have tried to detect pathogenic DNA in ancient skeletons, the successful identification of ancient tuberculosis strains remains rare. Here, we describe a study of 140 ancient subjects inhumed in Yakutia (Eastern Siberia) during a tuberculosis outbreak, dating from the 16th-19th century. For a long time, Yakut populations had remained isolated from European populations, and it was not until the beginning of the 17th century that first contacts were made with European settlers. Subsequently, tuberculosis spread throughout Yakutia, and the evolution of tuberculosis frequencies can be tracked until the 19th century. This study took a multidisciplinary approach, examining historical and paleo-epidemiological data to understand the impact of tuberculosis on ancient Yakut population. In addition, molecular identification of the ancient tuberculosis strain was realized to elucidate the natural history and host-pathogen co-evolution of human tuberculosis that was present in this population. This was achieved by the molecular detection of the IS6110 sequence and SNP genotyping by the SNaPshot technique. Results demonstrated that the strain belongs to cluster PGG2-SCG-5, evocating a European origin. Our study suggests that the Yakut population may have been shaped by selection pressures, exerted by several illnesses, including tuberculosis, over several centuries. This confirms the validity and necessity of using a multidisciplinary approach to understand the natural history of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease.