Reply to Barton et al: signatures of natural selection during the Black Death.

Barton . raise several statistical concerns regarding our original analyses that highlight the challenge of inferring natural selection using ancient genomic data. We show here that these concerns have limited impact on our original conclusions.

Evolution of immune genes is associated with the Black Death.

Infectious diseases are among the strongest selective pressures driving human evolution. This includes the single greatest mortality event in recorded history, the first outbreak of the second pandemic of plague, commonly called the Black Death, which was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. This pandemic devastated Afro-Eurasia, killing up to 30-50% of the population.