Institutes & CentersIstituto per lo studio delle mummie - Paleogenetics - Projects - ANCIENT PATHOGENS

ANCIENT PATHOGENS

Analisi molecolare del microbioma e di malattie infettive in reperti antichi umani - dalla diagnosi basata sulla “Capture-Sequencing” alla caratterizzazione metagenomica.

La caratterizzazione molecolare dei patogeni nei reperti antichi umani, costituisce un interessante ed innovativo campo di ricerca, contribuendo allo studio della storia e della evoluzione delle malattie infettive. L´analisi istologica e la caratterizzazione mediante PCR sono gli approcci diagnostici comunemente utilizzati. Le moderne tecniche "high-throughput sequencing” permettono di analizzare il DNA antico con metodiche innovative; ad esempio e`stato sequenziato il primo genoma completo dell`agente infettivo, Yersinia pestis, responsabile della “morte nera”. Tuttavia, in paleomicrobiologia si presentano non poche difficolta´metodologiche, come problemi di amplificazione, PCR, dovuti a DNA altamente degradati o lo sviluppo di sistemi bioinformatici per la valutazione di complessi dati metagenomici per patogeni antichi. Lo scopo di questo progetto sara´quello di migliorare l´individuazione mediante analisi del DNA dei patogeni in reperti antichi umani. Sara´possibile ottimizzare l´approccio diagnostico basato sull`amplificazione del DNA (PCR) grazie alla possibilita`offerta dall´EURAC, Istituto per le mummie e l` ìceman, di aver accesso ad una grande varieta´ di tessuti con possibili casi di infezione da tubercolosi, Brucellosi e malaria. Inoltre, in collaborazone con Vienna, sono in corso analisi dei dati ottenuti dall`Iceman con appoccio metagenomico , per definire una base informatica per la caratterizzazione de novo di patogeni , individuabili dai dataset metagenomici dei reperti antichi umani.

Project duration: January 2013 - December 2025
Project status:
Funding:
Internal funding EURAC (Project)
Institute: Istituto per lo studio delle mummie

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Scientific Publications

Journal article2025

Paleoparasitological evidence of helminth infections in individuals from two Late Iron Age necropolises in Northern Italy (3rd-1st c. BCE)

Lopez-Gijon R, Laffranchi Z, Teegen WR, Le Bailly M, Duras S, Roche K, Vitali D, Salzani L,

Albert Zink

Objective: Evaluate the presence of digestive macroparasites (helminths) in human remains from the Late Iron Age (3rd-1st c. BCE) in northern Italy (Verona province).

Materials: Pelvic soil samples and control samples from the skull or foot areas of 55 individuals from the necropolises of Seminario Vescovile (n = 45) and Povegliano Veronese (n = 10).

Methods: All samples were examined using brightfield optical microscopy. In addition, soil samples from 10 individuals from Seminario were analysed through paleogenetic methods in order to complement the microscopic analysis.

Results: Thirty Ascaridida eggs in pelvic samples from 6 individuals (3 from Seminario and 3 from Povegliano: 6.7 % and 30 % of the respective samples) were evaluated. Evidence of roundworm infection was observed in both sexes and in adults and non-adult individuals.

Conclusion: The presence of Ascaridida, likely Ascaris sp., eggs at both sites suggests that ineffective sanitation may have contributed to parasite exposure in these Late Iron Age communities.

Significance: This study provides novel insights into environmental and health risks among Iron Age communities. It also highlights the need for a critical assessment of taphonomic factors and sampling procedures when interpreting paleoparasitological data.

Limitations: The low frequency of identified eggs and the absence of recoverable parasite DNA at Seminario highlight taphonomic factors as a potential source of bias. The limited sample size from Povegliano also warrants caution in interpretation.

Suggestions for further research: Future studies integrating paleoparasitological and anthropological data are essential to evaluate the prevalence of parasitic infections in Iron Age populations from the Italian Peninsula.

DOI

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.08.001

Inbook2024

Mensch und Bakterien – Abriss einer gemeinsamen Evolution

Maixner F

Frank Maixner

Die Evolution des Menschen und seines Mikrobioms ist eng miteinander verwoben. Zwei große Übergänge in der jüngeren Menschheitsgeschichte, die neolithische Revolution und die Industrialisierung, und die damit einhergehenden Veränderungen hatten dabei vermutlich einen tiefgreifenden Einfluss auf unser Mikrobiom. Durch die Analyse archäologischer Stuhlproben aus verschiedenen Zeitepochen ist es mittlerweile möglich, Teile der Darmbakteriengemeinschaften unserer Vorfahren zu rekonstruieren und somit erste Hinweise auf Veränderungen in der mikrobiellen Vielfalt des Darmmikrobioms innerhalb der letzten Jahrtausende zu erhalten.

DOI

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-68455-9_2

Journal article2023

A nontuberculous mycobacterium could solve the mystery of the lady from the Franciscan church in Basel, Switzerland

Sarhan M, Wurst C, Tzankov A, Bircher AJ, Wittig H, Briellmann T, Augsburger M, Hotz G,

Christina Wurst, Frank Maixner, Mohamed Sarhan, Albert Zink

Background: In 1975, the mummified body of a female has been found in the Franciscan church in Basel, Switzerland. Molecular and genealogic analyses unveiled her identity as Anna Catharina Bischoff (ACB), a member of the upper class of post-reformed Basel, who died at the age of 68 years, in 1787. The reason behind her death is still a mystery, especially that toxicological analyses revealed high levels of mercury, a common treatment against infections at that time, in different body organs. The computed tomography (CT) and histological analysis showed bone lesions in the femurs, the rib cage, and the skull, which refers to a potential syphilis case.
Results: Although we could not detect any molecular signs of the syphilis-causing pathogen Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, we realized high prevalence of a nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) species in brain tissue sample. The genome analysis of this NTM displayed richness of virulence genes and toxins, and similarity to other infectious NTM, known to infect immunocompromised patients. In addition, it displayed potential resistance to mercury compounds, which might indicate a selective advantage against the applied treatment. This suggests that ACB might have suffered from an atypical mycobacteriosis during her life, which could explain the mummy’s bone lesion and high mercury concentrations.
Conclusions: The study of this mummy exemplifies the importance of employing differential diagnostic approaches in paleopathological analysis, by combining classical anthropological, radiological, histological, and toxicological observations with molecular analysis. It represents a proof-of-concept for the discovery of not-yet-described ancient pathogens in well-preserved specimens, using de novo metagenomic assembly.

DOI

DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01509-7

Journal article2023

Microscopic Evidence of Malaria Infection in Visceral Tissue from Medici Family, Italy

Maixner F, Drescher D, Boccalini G, Piombino-Mascali D, Janko M, Berens-Riha N, Kim BJ, Gamble M,

Giovanna Cipollini, Frank Maixner, Albert Zink

Microscopy of mummified visceral tissue from a Medici family member in Italy identified a potential blood vessel containing erythrocytes. Giemsa staining, atomic force microscopy, and immunohistochemistry confirmed Plasmodium falciparum inside those erythrocytes. Our results indicate an ancient Mediterranean presence of P. falciparum, which remains responsible for most malaria deaths in Africa.

DOI

DOI: 10.3201/eid2906.230134

All Publications

Paleoparasitological evidence of helminth infections in individuals from two Late Iron Age necropolises in Northern Italy (3rd-1st c. BCE)
Lopez-Gijon R, Laffranchi Z, Teegen WR, Le Bailly M, Duras S, Roche K, Vitali D, Salzani L, Zink A, Milella M (2025)
Articolo su rivista
International Journal of Paleopathology

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.08.001

Mumien und Mikroben - Pathogene und Mikrobiomforschung
Maixner F, Sarhan MS, Zink A (2025)
Articolo su rivista
Antike Welt: Zeitschrift für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte

Mensch und Bakterien – Abriss einer gemeinsamen Evolution
Maixner F (2024)
Contributo in un libro
Gastrointestinales Mikrobiom: Organ- und systembezogene Perspektiven

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-68455-9_2

Our partners

University College Dublin, School of Archeology

University of Tübingen

Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim

Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Dugonics Ter, Szeged, Hungary

University of Bern, Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine

Medizinische Universität Wien, Forensische Medizin, Fachbereich Forensische Anthropologie

Centre for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR), Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

University of Vienna, CUBE - Division of Computational Systems Biology, Department of ...

Universita degli Studi di Firenze, Facultà di Medicina e Chirurgia

Universitá di Trento, Centre for Integrative Biology

Project Team

Frank Maixner

Albert Zink

Technical
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Journal article2025

Paleoparasitological evidence of helminth infections in individuals from two Late Iron Age necropolises in Northern Italy (3rd-1st c. BCE)

Lopez-Gijon R, Laffranchi Z, Teegen WR, Le Bailly M, Duras S, Roche K, Vitali D, Salzani L,

Albert Zink

Objective: Evaluate the presence of digestive macroparasites (helminths) in human remains from the Late Iron Age (3rd-1st c. BCE) in northern Italy (Verona province).

Materials: Pelvic soil samples and control samples from the skull or foot areas of 55 individuals from the necropolises of Seminario Vescovile (n = 45) and Povegliano Veronese (n = 10).

Conclusion: The presence of Ascaridida, likely Ascaris sp., eggs at both sites suggests that ineffective sanitation may have contributed to parasite exposure in these Late Iron Age communities.

DOI

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2025.08.001

ANCIENT PATHOGENS