ArticlePloS one2016
High Ancient Genetic Diversity of Human Lice, Pediculus humanus, from Israel Reveals New Insights into the Origin of Clade B Lice.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- DNA Barcoding of Head Lice from a ~1500-Year-Old Salt-Preserved Mummy from the Chehrabad Salt Mine, Iran.Insects · 2026Article
- Genetic diversity and occurrence of permethrin resistance-associated mutations in a population of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) from Seville, Spain.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2026Article
- Impact factors and genetic characteristics of head lice infestation in schoolchildren: a cross-sectional study from 2018 to 2023 in central China.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- High prevalence of knockdown resistance mutations, genetic clade diversity, and detection ofCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2025Article
- Genotyping specimens of human lice from a centenary entomological collection.Current research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2025Article
- POPULATION STRUCTURE AND BARTONELLA QUINTANA IN HEAD AND BODY LICE IN POKHARA, NEPAL (ANOPLURA: PEDICULIDAE).The Journal of parasitology · 2023Article
- Nuclear genetic diversity of head lice sheds light on human dispersal around the world.PloS one · 2023Article
- Putative native South Amerindian origin of head lice clade F: evidence from head lice nits infesting human shrunken heads.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Molecular Characterization and Genetic Diversity of Haplogroup E Human Lice in Guinea, West Africa.Microorganisms · 2021Article
- Article
- Diversity of mitochondrial genes and predominance of Clade B in different head lice populations in the northwest of Iran.Parasites & vectors · 2020Article
- Molecular identification of head lice collected in Franceville (Gabon) and their associated bacteria.Parasites & vectors · 2020Article
- Molecular investigation and genetic diversity of Pediculus and Pthirus lice in France.Parasites & vectors · 2020Article
- Genetic diversity of human head lice and molecular detection of associated bacterial pathogens in Democratic Republic of Congo.Parasites & vectors · 2019Article
- Where Are We With Human Lice? A Review of the Current State of Knowledge.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2019Review
- Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger's refugees in Algeria.Parasites & vectors · 2018Article
- RETRACTED: Body lice of homeless people reveal the presence of several emerging bacterial pathogens in northern Algeria.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Detection of bacterial pathogens including potential new species in human head lice from Mali.PloS one · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is subdivided into several significantly divergent mitochondrial haplogroups, each with particular geographical distributions. Historically, they are among the oldest human parasites, representing an excellent marker for tracking older events in human evolutionary history. In this study, ancient DNA analysis using real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), combined with conventional PCR, was applied to the remains of twenty-four ancient head lice and their eggs from the Roman period which were recovered from Israel. The lice and eggs were found in three combs, one of which was recovered from archaeological excavations in the Hatzeva area of the Judean desert, and two of which found in Moa, in the Arava region, close to the Dead Sea. Results show that the head lice remains dating approximately to 2,000 years old have a cytb haplogroup A, which is worldwide in distribution, and haplogroup B, which has thus far only been found in contemporary lice from America, Europe, Australia and, most recently, Africa. More specifically, this haplogroup B has a B36 haplotype, the most common among B haplogroups, and has been present in America for at least 4,000 years. The present findings confirm that clade B lice existed, at least in the Middle East, prior to contacts between Native Americans and Europeans. These results support a Middle Eastern origin for clade B followed by its introduction into the New World with the early peoples. Lastly, the presence of Acinetobacter baumannii DNA was demonstrated by qPCR and sequencing in four head lice remains belonging to clade A.
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