Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy.
We have examined a 5th to 6th century inhumation from Great Chesterford, Essex, UK. The incomplete remains are those of a young male, aged around 21-35 years at death. The remains show osteological evidence of lepromatous leprosy (LL) and this was confirmed by lipid biomarker analysis and ancient DN...
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doaj-4933049d30c0432b9114ae326c03da222021-03-03T20:04:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01105e012428210.1371/journal.pone.0124282Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy.Sarah A InskipG Michael TaylorSonia R ZakrzewskiSimon A MaysAlistair W G PikeGareth LlewellynChristopher M WilliamsOona Y-C LeeHoudini H T WuDavid E MinnikinGurdyal S BesraGraham R StewartWe have examined a 5th to 6th century inhumation from Great Chesterford, Essex, UK. The incomplete remains are those of a young male, aged around 21-35 years at death. The remains show osteological evidence of lepromatous leprosy (LL) and this was confirmed by lipid biomarker analysis and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, which provided evidence for both multi-copy and single copy loci from the Mycobacterium leprae genome. Genotyping showed the strain belonged to the 3I lineage, but the Great Chesterford isolate appeared to be ancestral to 3I strains found in later medieval cases in southern Britain and also continental Europe. While a number of contemporaneous cases exist, at present, this case of leprosy is the earliest radiocarbon dated case in Britain confirmed by both aDNA and lipid biomarkers. Importantly, Strontium and Oxygen isotope analysis suggest that the individual is likely to have originated from outside Britain. This potentially sheds light on the origins of the strain in Britain and its subsequent spread to other parts of the world, including the Americas where the 3I lineage of M. leprae is still found in some southern states of America.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0124282 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sarah A Inskip G Michael Taylor Sonia R Zakrzewski Simon A Mays Alistair W G Pike Gareth Llewellyn Christopher M Williams Oona Y-C Lee Houdini H T Wu David E Minnikin Gurdyal S Besra Graham R Stewart |
spellingShingle |
Sarah A Inskip G Michael Taylor Sonia R Zakrzewski Simon A Mays Alistair W G Pike Gareth Llewellyn Christopher M Williams Oona Y-C Lee Houdini H T Wu David E Minnikin Gurdyal S Besra Graham R Stewart Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Sarah A Inskip G Michael Taylor Sonia R Zakrzewski Simon A Mays Alistair W G Pike Gareth Llewellyn Christopher M Williams Oona Y-C Lee Houdini H T Wu David E Minnikin Gurdyal S Besra Graham R Stewart |
author_sort |
Sarah A Inskip |
title |
Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. |
title_short |
Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. |
title_full |
Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. |
title_fullStr |
Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. |
title_sort |
osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2015-01-01 |
description |
We have examined a 5th to 6th century inhumation from Great Chesterford, Essex, UK. The incomplete remains are those of a young male, aged around 21-35 years at death. The remains show osteological evidence of lepromatous leprosy (LL) and this was confirmed by lipid biomarker analysis and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, which provided evidence for both multi-copy and single copy loci from the Mycobacterium leprae genome. Genotyping showed the strain belonged to the 3I lineage, but the Great Chesterford isolate appeared to be ancestral to 3I strains found in later medieval cases in southern Britain and also continental Europe. While a number of contemporaneous cases exist, at present, this case of leprosy is the earliest radiocarbon dated case in Britain confirmed by both aDNA and lipid biomarkers. Importantly, Strontium and Oxygen isotope analysis suggest that the individual is likely to have originated from outside Britain. This potentially sheds light on the origins of the strain in Britain and its subsequent spread to other parts of the world, including the Americas where the 3I lineage of M. leprae is still found in some southern states of America. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0124282 |
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