Old bones and preserved tissue reveal disease history
Zuckerman MK, Hofman CA, Rayfield KM, Lin AT, Liu HL
Ethnobotany
The same preservation and contamination puzzles researchers face when pulling ancient flu virus from old tissue samples are the kind of forensic detective work that also helps scientists trace how plant diseases and pathogens have shifted over centuries in soil and crops.
Researchers looked at old, preserved animal samples, like waterfowl tissue and sea lion dental plaque, to find traces of ancient diseases such as bird flu. By piecing together these old genetic clues, they're trying to understand how diseases move between animals, people, and the environment over long stretches of time, which could help us spot the next outbreak before it spreads.
Key Findings
Researchers recovered avian influenza virus sequences from decades-old formalin-fixed, ethanol-preserved wild waterfowl tissue samples.
Oral microbiomes were reconstructed from dental calculus (hardened plaque) in California sea lions to study past microbial communities.
Key obstacles identified include DNA/RNA degradation, contamination, incomplete reference databases, and lack of standardized sampling methods for historic specimens.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists are studying ancient diseases preserved in old animal tissue and even fossilized plaque to understand how pathogens like bird flu have evolved over time, which could help predict and prevent future outbreaks.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Ancient disease and One Health: Integrating ancient -omics and paleopathology to address contemporary infectious disease risks within One Paleopathology.
To explore methodological complications of One Paleopathology and highlight potential pathways for accommodating, circumventing, and overcoming these challenges. We review published research and pr...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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