Ancestral bacteria of plague found on almost 4,000-year-old teeth
- 6 years ago
SAMARA, RUSSIA — Scientists have unearthed findings that changes current thinking on how old the plague is.
Research published in the journal Nature Communication describes how scientists found the bacterium Yersinia Pestis on the teeth of 3,800-year-old human remains in Samara, Russia.
Researchers looked at the remains of nine people, two of them had the bacteria.
Yersinia Pestis gave rise to the bubonic plague.
The scientist used sequencing to analyze the samples and found that they pre-date current thinking on the plague's lineage — 3,000 years — by around 1,000 years.
Researchers suggest that there was at least two strains of plague lineage floating around at the time. Previously it was suggested to be one.
Research published in the journal Nature Communication describes how scientists found the bacterium Yersinia Pestis on the teeth of 3,800-year-old human remains in Samara, Russia.
Researchers looked at the remains of nine people, two of them had the bacteria.
Yersinia Pestis gave rise to the bubonic plague.
The scientist used sequencing to analyze the samples and found that they pre-date current thinking on the plague's lineage — 3,000 years — by around 1,000 years.
Researchers suggest that there was at least two strains of plague lineage floating around at the time. Previously it was suggested to be one.