ArticleBMC biology2020
2000-year-old pathogen genomes reconstructed from metagenomic analysis of Egyptian mummified individuals.
Article in BMC biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Leprosy in skeletons from archaeological sites: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Ancient Mycobacterium leprae genomes reveal a potential origin and dispersal of the ancestral Branch 0.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Metagenomic peek into a corn mummy.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Reconciling fast Hepatitis B evolutionary rates with ancient co-divergence.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Genomic evidence for limited entomophagy in ancient Europeans.Science advances · 2026Article
- Paleopathology Meets Public Health: Deep-Time Syndemics and the Ecology of Emerging Infections.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Art as a source of historical biodiversity data.iScience · 2026Review
- Ancient DNA and biomarkers from artefacts: insights into technology and cultural practices in Neolithic Europe.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Streptococcus abundance and oral site tropism in humans and non-human primates reflects host and lifestyle differences.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- The pathological anatomical collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2024Review
- Oral microbial diversity in 18th century African individuals from South Carolina.Communications biology · 2024Article
- CT, MR, and isotope data of a mummified child from Zagreb Cathedral, Croatia: giving voice to the past through imaging.Pediatric radiology · 2024Article
- Inferring diet, disease and antibiotic resistance from ancient human oral microbiomes.Microbial genomics · 2024Review
- A Journey into the Evolution of Human Host-Oral Microbiome Relationship through Ancient Dental Calculus: A Scoping Review.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Origin and dispersal history of Hepatitis B virus in Eastern Eurasia.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Ancient Genomes From Bronze Age Remains Reveal Deep Diversity and Recent Adaptive Episodes for Human Oral Pathobionts.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
- Ancient Clostridium DNA and variants of tetanus neurotoxins associated with human archaeological remains.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Bioarchaeological analyses reveal long-lasting continuity at the periphery of the Late Antique Roman Empire.iScience · 2023Article
- Historic and Prehistoric Epidemics: An Overview of Sources Available for the Study of Ancient Pathogens.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Metagenomic analysis of Ancient Egyptian canopic jars.American journal of biological anthropology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRecent advances in sequencing have facilitated large-scale analyses of the metagenomic composition of different samples, including the environmental microbiome of air, water, and soil, as well as the microbiome of living humans and other animals. Analyses of the microbiome of ancient human samples may provide insights into human health and disease, as well as pathogen evolution, but the field is still in its very early stages and considered highly challenging.
resultsThe metagenomic and pathogen content of Egyptian mummified individuals from different time periods was investigated via genetic analysis of the microbial composition of various tissues. The analysis of the dental calculus' microbiome identified Red Complex bacteria, which are correlated with periodontal diseases. From bone and soft tissue, genomes of two ancient pathogens, a 2200-year-old Mycobacterium leprae strain and a 2000-year-old human hepatitis B virus, were successfully reconstructed.
conclusionsThe results show the reliability of metagenomic studies on Egyptian mummified individuals and the potential to use them as a source for the extraction of ancient pathogen DNA.
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