The conundrum of related taxa: Detection and authentication of pathogen DNA in bioarchaeological samples from the Pacific.

Miss Meriam van Os¹, Dr Hugh Cross¹, Ms Olga Kardailsky¹, Dr  Gert-Jan  Jeunen¹, Dr Catherine Collins¹, Ms Kate McDonald¹, Dr Rebecca Kinaston¹, Dr Melandri Vlok¹, Professor  Richard  Walter^2,3, Professor Greg Cook⁴, Dr  Htin Lin Aung⁴, Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith¹, Professor Hallie Buckley¹, Associate Professor Michael Knapp¹

¹Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University Of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, ²Southern Pacific Archaeological Research, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, ³School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ⁴Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University Of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Humans populations have co-existed with infectious diseases for millennia, but microorganisms have only been recognised as the causative agent since the 1880s. The importance of genetic analysis of extant strains has long been recognised in fields such as medicine, but the rise of drug-resistant pathogens has increased the need for further knowledge about the co-evolution of humans and pathogens, and the genetic processes involved.

With the advancement of DNA technologies and improved ancient DNA protocols, it is now possible to detect highly degraded pathogen DNA in bioarchaeological samples, providing crucial insights into the pre-antibiotic era. Recent studies focusing on pathogens in Europe, the Americas and Africa, have provided valuable knowledge into the evolutionary history of pathogens, but there are currently no publications focused on the Pacific region.

This study uses ancient DNA analysis to learn more about diseases in past Pacific populations. We focus primarily on the detection and authentication of tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) from bioarchaeological samples. The samples originate from several Pacific sites, and date to between one hundred and three thousand years old. Three criteria have been used to authenticate pathogen DNA, which includes evenness of coverage, percent identity and haploidy. Using a range of bioinformatic tools, results indicate the presence of species closely resembling M. tuberculosis, but the major challenge is separating the pathogenic reads from closely related non-pathogenic species.

Biography:

Biography to come.