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Browsing by Author "Murphy, Reg"

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    Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria
    (2024) Michel, Megan; Skourtanioti, Eirini; Pierini, Federica; Guevara, Evelyn K.; Moetsch, Angela; Kocher, Arthur; Barquera, Rodrigo; Bianco, Raffaela A.; Carlhoff, Selina; Bove, Lorenza Coppola; Freilich, Suzanne; Giffin, Karen; Hermes, Taylor; Hiß, Alina; Knolle, Florian; Nelson, Elizabeth A.; Neumann, Gunnar U.; Papac, Luka; Penske, Sandra; Rohrlach, Adam B.; Salem, Nada; Semerau, Lena; Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa; Abadie, Isabelle; Aldenderfer, Mark; Beckett, Jessica F.; Brown, Matthew; Campus, Franco G. R.; Chenghwa, Tsang; Cruz Berrocal, María; Damašek, Ladislav; Carlson, Kellie Sara Duffett; Durand, Raphaël; Ernée, Michal; Fântăneanu, Cristinel; Frenzel, Hannah; García Atiénzar, Gabriel; Guillén, Sonia; Hsieh, Ellen; Karwowski, Maciej; Kelvin, David; Kelvin, Nikki; Khokhlov, Alexander; Kinaston, Rebecca L.; Korolev, Arkadii; Krettek, Kim-Louise; Küßner, Mario; Lai, Luca; Look, Cory; Majander, Kerttu; Mandl, Kirsten; Mazzarello, Vittorio; McCormick, Michael; de Miguel Ibáñez, Patxuka; Murphy, Reg; Németh, Rita E.; Nordqvist, Kerkko; Novotny, Friederike; Obenaus, Martin; Olmo-Enciso, Lauro; Onkamo, Päivi; Orschiedt, Jörg; Patrushev, Valerii; Peltola, Sanni; Romero, Alejandro; Rubino, Salvatore; Sajantila, Antti; Salazar-García, Domingo C.; Serrano, Elena; Shaydullaev, Shapulat; Sias, Emanuela; Šlaus, Mario; Stančo, Ladislav; Swanston, Treena; Teschler-Nicola, Maria; Valentin, Frederique; Van de Vijver, Katrien; Varney, Tamara L.; Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Alfonso; Waters, Christopher K.; Weiss-Krejci, Estella; Winter, Eduard; Lamnidis, Thiseas C.; Prüfer, Kay; Nägele, Kathrin; Spyrou, Maria; Schiffels, Stephan; Stockhammer, Philipp W.; Haak, Wolfgang; Posth, Cosimo; Warinner, Christina; Bos, Kirsten I.; Herbig, Alexander; Krause, Johannes
    Malaria-causing protozoa of the genus Plasmodium have exerted one of the strongest selective pressures on the human genome, and resistance alleles provide biomolecular footprints that outline the historical reach of these species. Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe. To address these questions, we generated high-coverage ancient mitochondrial and nuclear genome-wide data from P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae from 16 countries spanning around 5,500 years of human history. We identified P. vivax and P. falciparum across geographically disparate regions of Eurasia from as early as the fourth and first millennia bce, respectively; for P. vivax, this evidence pre-dates textual references by several millennia. Genomic analysis supports distinct disease histories for P. falciparum and P. vivax in the Americas: similarities between now-eliminated European and peri-contact South American strains indicate that European colonizers were the source of American P. vivax, whereas the trans-Atlantic slave trade probably introduced P. falciparum into the Americas. Our data underscore the role of cross-cultural contacts in the dissemination of malaria, laying the biomolecular foundation for future palaeo-epidemiological research into the impact of Plasmodium parasites on human history. Finally, our unexpected discovery of P. falciparum in the high-altitude Himalayas provides a rare case study in which individual mobility can be inferred from infection status, adding to our knowledge of cross-cultural connectivity in the region nearly three millennia ago.
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    Element localization in archaeological bone using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence: identification of biogenic uptake
    (2012) Swanston, Treena; Varney, Tamara L.; Coulthard, Ian; Feng, Renfei; Bewer, Brian; Murphy, Reg; Hennig, Cheryl; Cooper, David M. L.
    Trace element analysis related to archaeological bone is viewed as one way to determine levels of element exposure in past populations. This area of research is complex because there is the potential for the incorporation of trace elements from the burial environment into archaeological bone. We tested the hypothesis that matching the spatial distribution of trace elements within cortical bone with the biological structures would provide evidence of biogenic uptake. We examined samples from a non-segregated Royal British Naval cemetery (1793–1822) in Antigua, West Indies. A key historical question related to this population was the extent of exposure to lead and the resulting health effects. Images from conventional light microscopy (histological) analysis of the bone samples were matched with elemental maps of calcium, strontium, and lead that were created through the use of synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF). Biogenic uptake of both strontium and lead was indicated based on the localization of these trace elements within discreet microstructural elements. The successful integration of histological information with XRF data is a powerful technique for the interpretation of past biological events through trace elements.
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    Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging evidence of biogenic mercury identified in a burial in colonial Antigua
    (2015) Swanston, Treena; Varney, Tamara L.; Coulthard, Ian; George, Graham N.; Pickering, Ingrid J.; Murphy, Reg; Cooper, David M. L.
    A mass spectroscopic analysis of bone samples from 17 individuals once buried in a Royal Naval Hospital cemetery (1793–1822) in Antigua revealed a high level of mercury (Hg) in one individual. While the toxic properties of Hg are now recognized, this metal was used for centuries to treat ailments such as syphilis and yellow fever. Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging (XFI) was employed to determine whether the Hg was present in the bone as a result of environmental contamination or due to biogenic uptake. The XFI study revealed that only a localized subset of the osteons within a 2.5 mm by 1.5 mm scan contained Hg – a finding consistent with biogenic uptake. The near-edge portion of the X-ray absorption spectrum was used to determine that the Hg was present in the bone tissue as an inorganic mercuric sulfide.