A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy

作者：Devault Alison M; Mortimer Tatum D; Kitchen Andrew; Kiesewetter Henrike; Enk Jacob M; Golding G Brian; Southon John; Kuch Melanie; Duggan Ana T; Aylward William; Gardner Shea N; Allen Jonathan E; King Andrew M; Wright Gerard; Kuroda Makoto; Kato Kengo; Briggs Derek E G; Fornaciari Gino; Holmes Edward C; Poinar Hendrik N; Pepperell Caitlin S

来源：eLife, 2017, 6: e20983.

DOI：10.7554/eLife.20983

Pregnancy complications are poorly represented in the archeological record, despite their importance in contemporary and ancient societies. While excavating a Byzantine cemetery in Troy, we discovered calcified abscesses among a woman's remains. Scanning electron microscopy of the tissue revealed 'ghost cells', resulting from dystrophic calcification, which preserved ancient maternal, fetal and bacterial DNA of a severe infection, likely chorioamnionitis. Gardnerella vaginalis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus dominated the abscesses. Phylogenomic analyses of ancient, historical, and contemporary data showed that G. vaginalis Troy fell within contemporary genetic diversity, whereas S. saprophyticus Troy belongs to a lineage that does not appear to be commonly associated with human disease today. We speculate that the ecology of S. saprophyticus infection may have differed in the ancient world as a result of close contacts between humans and domesticated animals. These results highlight the complex and dynamic interactions with our microbial milieu that underlie severe maternal infections.

• 出版日期2017-1-10