2000-year-old pathogen genomes reconstructed from metagenomic analysis of Egyptian mummified individuals.

Background: Recent advances in sequencing have facilitated large-scale analyses of the metagenomic composition of different samples, including the environmental microbiome of air, water, and soil, as well as the microbiome of living humans and other animals. Analyses of the microbiome of ancient human samples may provide insights into human health and disease, as well as pathogen evolution, but the field is still in its very early stages and considered highly challenging.

Results: The metagenomic and pathogen content of Egyptian mummified individuals from different time periods was investigated via genetic analysis of the microbial composition of various tissues.

Ancient Egyptian mummy genomes suggest an increase of Sub-Saharan African ancestry in post-Roman periods.

Egypt, located on the isthmus of Africa, is an ideal region to study historical population dynamics due to its geographic location and documented interactions with ancient civilizations in Africa, Asia and Europe. Particularly, in the first millennium BCE Egypt endured foreign domination leading to growing numbers of foreigners living within its borders possibly contributing genetically to the local population. Here we present 90 mitochondrial genomes as well as genome-wide data sets from three individuals obtained from Egyptian mummies.

Molecular identification of falciparum malaria and human tuberculosis co-infections in mummies from the Fayum depression (Lower Egypt).

Due to the presence of the lake Quarun and to the particular nature of its irrigation system, it has been speculated that the Fayum, a large depression 80 kilometers south-west of modern Cairo, was exposed to the hazards of malaria in historic times. Similarly, it has been speculated that, in the same area, also human tuberculosis might have been far more widespread in the antiquity than in its recent past. If these hypotheses were confirmed, it would imply that frequent cases of co-infection between the two pathogens might have occurred in ancient populations.

Enlightening the past: analytical proof for the use of Pistacia exudates in ancient Egyptian embalming resins.

Mastic, the resinous exudate of the evergreen shrub Pistacia lentiscus, is frequently discussed as one of the ingredients used for embalming in ancient Egypt. We show the identification of mastic in ancient Egyptian embalming resins by an unambiguous assignment of the mastic triterpenoid fingerprint consisting of moronic acid, oleanonic acid, isomasticadienonic and masticadienonic acid through the consolidation of NMR and GC/MS analysis. Differences in the observed triterpenoid fingerprints between mummy specimens suggest that more than one plant species served as the triterpenoid resin source.