Journal article
A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy
eLife, Vol.6, e20983
01/10/2017
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.20983
PMCID: PMC5224923
PMID: 28072390
Abstract
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.
and
dominated the abscesses. Phylogenomic analyses of ancient, historical, and contemporary data showed that
Troy fell within contemporary genetic diversity, whereas
Troy belongs to a lineage that does not appear to be commonly associated with human disease today. We speculate that the ecology of
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.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy
- Creators
- Alison M Devault - McMaster UniversityTatum D Mortimer - University of Wisconsin–MadisonAndrew Kitchen - University of IowaHenrike Kiesewetter - University of TübingenJacob M Enk - McMaster UniversityG Brian Golding - McMaster UniversityJohn Southon - University of California, IrvineMelanie Kuch - McMaster UniversityAna T Duggan - McMaster UniversityWilliam Aylward - University of Wisconsin–MadisonShea N Gardner - Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryJonathan E Allen - Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryAndrew M King - McMaster UniversityGerard Wright - McMaster UniversityMakoto Kuroda - National Institutes of HealthKengo Kato - National Institutes of HealthDerek Eg Briggs - Yale UniversityGino Fornaciari - University of PisaEdward C Holmes - University of SydneyHendrik N Poinar - McMaster UniversityCaitlin S Pepperell - University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- eLife, Vol.6, e20983
- DOI
- 10.7554/ELIFE.20983
- PMID
- 28072390
- PMCID
- PMC5224923
- ISSN
- 2050-084X
- eISSN
- 2050-084X
- Grant note
- R01 AI113287 / NIAID NIH HHS T32 GM007215 / NIGMS NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/10/2017
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology; International Programs
- Record Identifier
- 9984270194902771
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