Recognising the broad array of approaches available for the diagnosis of ancient tuberculosis: comment on ‘Infectious diseases and Neolithic transformations’ (Fuchs et al. 2019 The Holocene 29: 1545–1557)
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
External organisations
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Abstract
The characterisation of ancient tuberculosis is not totally dependent on the recovery of intact genomes. Judicious combinations of ancient DNA fragments and specific lipid biomarkers provide unambiguous diagnosis and these protocols are capable of refinement and extension. Currently, there is no direct evidence for exclusive co-evolution of humans and tuberculosis. A developing body of data suggests that the initial evolution of tuberculosis may readily have taken place in a range of Pleistocene megafauna.
Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 781-783 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | The Holocene |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 5 Jan 2020 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2020 |
Keywords
- ancient tuberculosis, DNA fragment amplification, genomes, lipid biomarkers, paleopathology, Pleistocene megafauna, tuberculosis evolution