Eighteenth century Yersinia pestis genomes reveal the long-term persistence of an historical plague focus
Kirsten I Bos,
Alexander Herbig,
Jason Sahl,
Nicholas Waglechner,
Mathieu Fourment,
Stephen A Forrest,
Jennifer Klunk,
Verena J Schuenemann,
Debi Poinar,
Melanie Kuch,
G Brian Golding,
Olivier Dutour,
Paul Keim,
David M Wagner,
Edward C Holmes,
Johannes Krause,
Hendrik N Poinar
Affiliations
Kirsten I Bos
Department of Archeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
Alexander Herbig
Department of Archeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
Jason Sahl
Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, United States
Nicholas Waglechner
Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Mathieu Fourment
Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Stephen A Forrest
Department of Archeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Jennifer Klunk
McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Verena J Schuenemann
Department of Archeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Debi Poinar
McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Melanie Kuch
McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
G Brian Golding
Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
Olivier Dutour
Laboratoire d'anthropologie biologique Paul Broca, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PACEA, Université Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
Paul Keim
Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, United States
David M Wagner
Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, United States
Edward C Holmes
Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Department of Archeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
Hendrik N Poinar
Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
The 14th–18th century pandemic of Yersinia pestis caused devastating disease outbreaks in Europe for almost 400 years. The reasons for plague’s persistence and abrupt disappearance in Europe are poorly understood, but could have been due to either the presence of now-extinct plague foci in Europe itself, or successive disease introductions from other locations. Here we present five Y. pestis genomes from one of the last European outbreaks of plague, from 1722 in Marseille, France. The lineage identified has not been found in any extant Y. pestis foci sampled to date, and has its ancestry in strains obtained from victims of the 14th century Black Death. These data suggest the existence of a previously uncharacterized historical plague focus that persisted for at least three centuries. We propose that this disease source may have been responsible for the many resurgences of plague in Europe following the Black Death.
