Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38926415›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Metagenomic and paleopathological analyses of a historic documented collection explore ancient dental calculus as a diagnostic tool.

Rita M Austin, Tanvi P Honap, Allison E Mann, Alexander Hübner, Cassandra M S DeGaglia, Christina Warinner, Molly K Zuckerman, Courtney A Hofman

Erratum issuedAbstract readHistorical Article
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Rita M AustinFrontiers in Evolutionary Zoology Research Group, Natural History Museum of Oslo, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0562, Norway. austinrmca@gmail.com.
Tanvi P HonapDepartment of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
Allison E MannDepartment of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA.
Alexander HübnerDepartment Archaeogenetics, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
Cassandra M S DeGagliaDepartment of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA.
Christina WarinnerDepartment of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
Molly K ZuckermanDepartment of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA. mkz12@msstate.edu.
Courtney A HofmanDepartment of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA. courtney.hofman@ou.edu.

Funding

National Science Foundation, United States NSF BCS-1643318Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, United States Pre-doctoral Fellowship
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dental calculus is a microbial biofilm that contains biomolecules from oral commensals and pathogens, including those potentially related to cause of death (CoD). To assess the utility of calculus as a diagnostically informative substrate, in conjunction with paleopathological analysis, calculus samples from 39 individuals in the Smithsonian Institution's Robert J. Terry Collection with CoDs of either syphilis or tuberculosis were assessed via shotgun metagenomic sequencing for the presence of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) DNA. Paleopathological analysis revealed that frequencies of skeletal lesions associated with these diseases were partially inconsistent with diagnostic criteria. Although recovery of T. p. pallidum DNA from individuals with a syphilis CoD was elusive, MTBC DNA was identified in at least one individual with a tuberculosis CoD. The authenticity of MTBC DNA was confirmed using targeted quantitative PCR assays, MTBC genome enrichment, and in silico bioinformatic analyses; however, the lineage of the MTBC strain present could not be determined. Overall, our study highlights the utility of dental calculus for molecular detection of tuberculosis in the archaeological record and underscores the effect of museum preparation techniques and extensive handling on pathogen DNA preservation in skeletal collections.

Indexed as

Dental CalculusMetagenomicsMycobacterium tuberculosisPaleopathologyTuberculosisAdultDNA, BacterialFemaleHumansMaleMetagenomeMiddle AgedSyphilisTreponema pallidumDNA, BacterialAncient DNADental calculusInterdisciplinaryPathogen identificationRobert J. Terry CollectionTuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID38926415
PMCPMC11208530

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