ArticlePLoS pathogens2013
Yersinia pestis DNA from skeletal remains from the 6(th) century AD reveals insights into Justinianic Plague.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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56 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 271 citations in OpenAlex.
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- ChASM: a statistically rigorous method for the detection of chromosomal aneuploidies in ancient DNA studies.Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Differential pathogenicity and lethality of bubonic plague (1720-1945) by sex, age and place.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Paleomicrobiology: Tracking the past microbial life from single species to entire microbial communities.Microbial biotechnology · 2024Review
- Insights from qualitative and bifurcation analysis of COVID-19 vaccination model in Bangladesh.PloS one · 2024Article
- AncientProceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Yersinia pestis genomes reveal plague in Britain 4000 years ago.Nature communications · 2023Article
- No evidence for persistent natural plague reservoirs in historical and modern Europe.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Historic and Prehistoric Epidemics: An Overview of Sources Available for the Study of Ancient Pathogens.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
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- On societal response to pandemics: linking past experiences to present events.Discover social science and health · 2022Review
- Microorganisms as Shapers of Human Civilization, from Pandemics to Even Our Genomes: Villains or Friends? A Historical Approach.Microorganisms · 2021Review
- A Review of COVID-19 Modelling Strategies in Three Countries to Develop a Research Framework for Regional Areas.Viruses · 2021Review
- Antibiotic Therapy of Plague: A Review.Biomolecules · 2021Review
- Review
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- New ancient Eastern EuropeanPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of the disease plague, has been implicated in three historical pandemics. These include the third pandemic of the 19(th) and 20(th) centuries, during which plague was spread around the world, and the second pandemic of the 14(th)-17(th) centuries, which included the infamous epidemic known as the Black Death. Previous studies have confirmed that Y. pestis caused these two more recent pandemics. However, a highly spirited debate still continues as to whether Y. pestis caused the so-called Justinianic Plague of the 6(th)-8(th) centuries AD. By analyzing ancient DNA in two independent ancient DNA laboratories, we confirmed unambiguously the presence of Y. pestis DNA in human skeletal remains from an Early Medieval cemetery. In addition, we narrowed the phylogenetic position of the responsible strain down to major branch 0 on the Y. pestis phylogeny, specifically between nodes N03 and N05. Our findings confirm that Y. pestis was responsible for the Justinianic Plague, which should end the controversy regarding the etiology of this pandemic. The first genotype of a Y. pestis strain that caused the Late Antique plague provides important information about the history of the plague bacillus and suggests that the first pandemic also originated in Asia, similar to the other two plague pandemics.
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