A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy
Pregnancy complications are poorly represented in the archeological record, despite their importance in contemporary and ancient societies. While excavating a Byzantine cemetery in Troy, we discovered calcified abscesses among a woman’s remains. Scanning electron microscopy of the tissue revealed ‘g...
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2017-01-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/20983 |
| _version_ | 1811201024016252928 |
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| author | Alison M Devault Tatum D Mortimer Andrew Kitchen Henrike Kiesewetter Jacob M Enk G Brian Golding John Southon Melanie Kuch Ana T Duggan William Aylward Shea N Gardner Jonathan E Allen Andrew M King Gerard Wright Makoto Kuroda Kengo Kato Derek EG Briggs Gino Fornaciari Edward C Holmes Hendrik N Poinar Caitlin S Pepperell |
| author_facet | Alison M Devault Tatum D Mortimer Andrew Kitchen Henrike Kiesewetter Jacob M Enk G Brian Golding John Southon Melanie Kuch Ana T Duggan William Aylward Shea N Gardner Jonathan E Allen Andrew M King Gerard Wright Makoto Kuroda Kengo Kato Derek EG Briggs Gino Fornaciari Edward C Holmes Hendrik N Poinar Caitlin S Pepperell |
| author_sort | Alison M Devault |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pregnancy complications are poorly represented in the archeological record, despite their importance in contemporary and ancient societies. While excavating a Byzantine cemetery in Troy, we discovered calcified abscesses among a woman’s remains. Scanning electron microscopy of the tissue revealed ‘ghost cells’, resulting from dystrophic calcification, which preserved ancient maternal, fetal and bacterial DNA of a severe infection, likely chorioamnionitis. Gardnerella vaginalis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus dominated the abscesses. Phylogenomic analyses of ancient, historical, and contemporary data showed that G. vaginalis Troy fell within contemporary genetic diversity, whereas S. saprophyticus Troy belongs to a lineage that does not appear to be commonly associated with human disease today. We speculate that the ecology of S. saprophyticus infection may have differed in the ancient world as a result of close contacts between humans and domesticated animals. These results highlight the complex and dynamic interactions with our microbial milieu that underlie severe maternal infections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T02:14:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-903f8e15222549e489eb9945dff23dc4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T02:14:41Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-903f8e15222549e489eb9945dff23dc42022-12-22T03:52:18ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2017-01-01610.7554/eLife.20983A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine TroyAlison M Devault0Tatum D Mortimer1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6255-690XAndrew Kitchen2Henrike Kiesewetter3Jacob M Enk4G Brian Golding5John Southon6Melanie Kuch7Ana T Duggan8William Aylward9Shea N Gardner10Jonathan E Allen11Andrew M King12Gerard Wright13Makoto Kuroda14Kengo Kato15Derek EG Briggs16Gino Fornaciari17Edward C Holmes18https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9596-3552Hendrik N Poinar19Caitlin S Pepperell20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6324-1333McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; MYcroarray, Ann Arbor, United StatesDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States; Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United StatesDepartment of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, United StatesProject Troia, Institute of Prehistory, Early History, and Medieval Archaeology, Tübingen University, Tübingen, GermanyMcMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; MYcroarray, Ann Arbor, United StatesDepartment of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, CanadaKeck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometer, Earth Systems Science Department, University of California, Irvine, United StatesMcMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, CanadaMcMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, CanadaMolecular Archaeology Laboratory, Biotechnology Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States; Department of Classics and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United StatesLawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, United StatesLawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, United StatesMichael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, CanadaMichael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, CanadaLaboratory of Bacterial Genomics, Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, JapanLaboratory of Bacterial Genomics, Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, United StatesDivision of Paleopathology, Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyMarie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaMcMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Humans and the Microbiome Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, CanadaDepartment of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States; Molecular Archaeology Laboratory, Biotechnology Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States; Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United StatesPregnancy complications are poorly represented in the archeological record, despite their importance in contemporary and ancient societies. While excavating a Byzantine cemetery in Troy, we discovered calcified abscesses among a woman’s remains. Scanning electron microscopy of the tissue revealed ‘ghost cells’, resulting from dystrophic calcification, which preserved ancient maternal, fetal and bacterial DNA of a severe infection, likely chorioamnionitis. Gardnerella vaginalis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus dominated the abscesses. Phylogenomic analyses of ancient, historical, and contemporary data showed that G. vaginalis Troy fell within contemporary genetic diversity, whereas S. saprophyticus Troy belongs to a lineage that does not appear to be commonly associated with human disease today. We speculate that the ecology of S. saprophyticus infection may have differed in the ancient world as a result of close contacts between humans and domesticated animals. These results highlight the complex and dynamic interactions with our microbial milieu that underlie severe maternal infections.https://elifesciences.org/articles/20983Staphylococcus saprophyticusAncient DNAchorioamnionitisGardnerella vaginalisevolutiongenomics |
| spellingShingle | Alison M Devault Tatum D Mortimer Andrew Kitchen Henrike Kiesewetter Jacob M Enk G Brian Golding John Southon Melanie Kuch Ana T Duggan William Aylward Shea N Gardner Jonathan E Allen Andrew M King Gerard Wright Makoto Kuroda Kengo Kato Derek EG Briggs Gino Fornaciari Edward C Holmes Hendrik N Poinar Caitlin S Pepperell A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy eLife Staphylococcus saprophyticus Ancient DNA chorioamnionitis Gardnerella vaginalis evolution genomics |
| title | A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy |
| title_full | A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy |
| title_fullStr | A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy |
| title_full_unstemmed | A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy |
| title_short | A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy |
| title_sort | molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from byzantine troy |
| topic | Staphylococcus saprophyticus Ancient DNA chorioamnionitis Gardnerella vaginalis evolution genomics |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/20983 |
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