Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Laboratory of molecular microbiology, Riga, Latvia.
Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia.
Environ Microbiol Rep. 2023 Oct;15(5):383-391. doi: 10.1111/1758-2229.13157. Epub 2023 Apr 13.
In the grave environment, microorganisms are major ecological participants in the successional decomposition of vertebrates and could infiltrate the skeleton/skeletal material during taphonomic processes. The diversity of archaeological skeleton-associated microbial assemblages and the impact of various factors are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the taxonomic microbial composition of archaeological human bone and teeth samples from the 7th to 11th centuries AD from two burial sites in Latvia. Samples were analysed by a shotgun metagenomics-based approach. The results showed a strong presence of the environmental DNA in the samples, and variability in microbial community structure between individual samples. Differences in microbial composition were observed between bone and tooth samples, as well as between different burial sites. Furthermore, the presence of endogenous ancient DNA (aDNA) in tooth samples was detected. Overall, compositions of microbial communities associated with archaeological human remains in Latvia dated 7-11th century AD were influenced by the sample type and burial location. These findings indicate that, while the content of historical DNA in archaeological samples is low, the comparison of archaeological skeleton-associated microbial assemblages across time and space, along with aDNA damage profile analysis, is important and could help to reveal putative ancient microorganisms.
在恶劣的环境中，微生物是脊椎动物演替分解的主要生态参与者，并且在埋藏过程中可能会渗透到骨骼/骨骼材料中。考古骨骼相关微生物组合的多样性以及各种因素的影响还知之甚少。本研究旨在评估来自拉脱维亚两个埋葬地点的公元 7 至 11 世纪的考古人类骨骼和牙齿样本的分类微生物组成。通过基于 shotgun 宏基因组学的方法对样本进行了分析。结果表明，样本中存在大量环境 DNA，并且个体样本之间的微生物群落结构存在可变性。骨样和牙样之间以及不同埋葬地点之间观察到微生物组成的差异。此外，还检测到了牙齿样本中内源性古 DNA（aDNA）的存在。总体而言，拉脱维亚公元 7-11 世纪考古人类遗骸相关微生物群落的组成受到样本类型和埋葬地点的影响。这些发现表明，尽管考古样本中历史 DNA 的含量较低，但比较不同时间和空间的考古骨骼相关微生物组合以及 aDNA 损伤谱分析非常重要，并且可以帮助揭示假定的古代微生物。
