No particular genomic features underpin the dramatic economic consequences of 17th century plague epidemics in Italy
Andaine Seguin-Orlando,
Caroline Costedoat,
Clio Der Sarkissian,
Stéfan Tzortzis,
Célia Kamel,
Norbert Telmon,
Love Dalén,
Catherine Thèves,
Michel Signoli,
Ludovic Orlando
Affiliations
Andaine Seguin-Orlando
Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France; Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse IAST, Université Toulouse I Capitole, Esplanade de l’Université, 31080 Toulouse cedex 06, France
Caroline Costedoat
Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Secteur Nord Bâtiment A CS80011, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France
Clio Der Sarkissian
Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
Stéfan Tzortzis
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles de PACA, Service Régional de l’Archéologie, 23 bd du Roi René, 13617 Aix-en-Provence cedex, France
Célia Kamel
Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Secteur Nord Bâtiment A CS80011, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France
Norbert Telmon
Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
Love Dalén
Centre for Palaeogenetics, Svante Arrhenius väg 20C, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
Catherine Thèves
Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
Michel Signoli
Anthropologie bio-culturelle, droit, éthique et santé ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Secteur Nord Bâtiment A CS80011, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille Cedex 15, France
Ludovic Orlando
Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse CAGT, UMR 5288, CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France; Corresponding author
Summary: The 17th century plague epidemic had a particularly strong demographic toll in Southern Europe, especially Italy, where it caused long-lasting economical damage. Whether this resulted from ineffective sanitation measures or more pathogenic Yersinia pestis strains remains unknown. DNA screening of 26 skeletons from the 1629-1630 plague cemetery of Lariey (French Alps) identified two teeth rich in plague genetic material. Further sequencing revealed two Y. pestis genomes phylogenetically closest to those from the 1636 outbreak of San Procolo a Naturno, Italy. They both belonged to a cluster extending from the Alps to Northern Germany that probably propagated during the Thirty Years war. Sequence variation did not support faster evolutionary rates in the Italian genomes and revealed only rare private non-synonymous mutations not affecting virulence genes. This, and the more heterogeneous spatial diffusion of the epidemic outside Italy, suggests environmental or social rather than biological causes for the severe Italian epidemic trajectory.
