For the first time, the genome of someone from Pompeii has been sequenced: Tuberculosis patient found

Scientists have uncovered the genetic profile of a person living in the Italian city of Pompeii, which was buried under volcanic ash and slag by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius about 2,000 years ago. The team succeeded in sequencing the person’s genome and discovered that he had suffered from tuberculosis throughout his life.

The reasons for not escaping the disaster may be tuberculosis

Archaeologists working on the ruins of Pompeii in 1993 found the bodies of two people who were almost perfectly preserved. While the piles of ash on them ensured the preservation of the skeletons, the remains found in a room of the building known as Casa del Fabbro or Craftsman’s House, after being examined, belonged to a man who was between 35 and 40 years old and about 164 centimeters tall at the time of their death, and a woman over 50 years old and about 153 centimeters tall. it turned out to be.

In a new study, a joint research team from Italy, Denmark and the USA was able to extract sufficient DNA for analysis from the petrous portion of the temporal bone in the male skeleton. Examining its genome, scientists compared the sample to the genomes of 1,030 ancient and 471 modern western Eurasian individuals. The results revealed similarities to the people of central Italy in both ancient and modern times.

As a result of the studies carried out, it was understood that the person had tuberculosis of the spine, also known as Pott’s disease. The team stated that the person may not have been able to escape from the volcanic eruptions of Vesuvius due to the effects of the disease such as intense back pain and lower body paralysis.

Researchers, “Our initial findings provide a basis for encouraging an intensive analysis of well-preserved Pompeii individuals. The paleogenetic analysis, supported by the enormous amount of archaeological information gathered for the city of Pompeii over the past century, will help us rebuild the city.” made statements.