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Section MOLECULAR ANTHROPOLOGY - NEW ADVANCES
MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL CASE OF POTT'S DISEASE FROM THE ÂRPÀDIAN-ERA
Posa Annamâria1,2, Kohler Kitti3, Maixner Frank4, Zink Albert4, Sola Christophe5, Pâlfi Gyorgy1, Mende Balâzs Gusztâv3
1Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary 2Department of Genetics, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of Archaeology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
4lnstitute for Mummies and the Iceman, EURAC Research, Bolzano, Italy ^Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Campus d'Orsay, Orsay, France
It is well known that tuberculosis (TB) causes 1.5 million deaths every year and one-third of the world's total population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (WHO, 2011). These facts give a great importance to paleopathological TB research too. Due to recent development of macroscopic and molecular diagnostic methods in paleopathology and paleomicrobiology, molecular methods for the detection of Mycobacterial ancient DNA (aDNA) have also been developed considerably in the last few years. The osteoarchaeological series of Gyor-Posdomb from the 10-11th century (western Hungary) has already been the subject of preliminary paleopathological studies on TB-related bone lesions, an interesting case with Pott's disease (Grave No. 187) was detected. The total graveyard contains 217 individuals. Skeletal material of this cemetery was chosen for the macromorphological investigation, which focused both on classical/advanced (tuberculous spondylitis, tuberculous arthritis) stage skeletal TB alterations and atypical/early-stage TB lesions (rib lesions, superficial vertebral changes, endocranial alterations, early-stage spondylodiscitis). In addition, the association of possible stress factors (long bone periostitis, cribra orbitalia, cribra cranii) was also considered. Earlier some cases had been detected from the Roman Period Pannonia and the Avar Age by macromorphological methods. Nevertheless the good state of preservation of this case, the important chronological period of the Hungarian history and the fact that the presence of classical TB symptoms from Arpadian-era have never been detected aDNA by molecular methods before encouraged us to carry out an ancient DNA test of TB-related lesions in this skeleton. Paleomicrobiological analysis was used to study the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA both in morphologically positive and negative cases. Samples were examined for the repetitive element IS6110 in the M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC). The currently ongoing spoligotyping and sequencing can give a more accurate picture of the infection by different MTBC pathogens. Our future aims include the examination of the total series of Gyor-Posdomb so that we can clarify a certain degree of the infection in this era. This research was supported by the European Union and the State of Hungary, co-financed by the European Social Fund in the framework of TEMOP 4.2.4. A/2-11-1-2012-0001 "National Excellence Program".
Key words: paleopathology, aDNA, 10-11th century, skeletal tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Hungary
Contact information: Pósa Annamária, e-mail: posa.annamaria@gmail.com.
Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Series 23 ANTHROPOLOGIYA — 3/2014
19th Congress of the European Anthropological Association Lomonosov MSU, Moscow, Russia, 25th - 29th August, 2014
