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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2005, p. 2236-2240, Vol. 43, No. 5
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.5.2236-2240.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genotypic Analysis of the Earliest Known Prehistoric Case of Tuberculosis in Britain

G. Michael Taylor,1* Douglas B. Young,1 and Simon A. Mays2

Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine, London,1 Ancient Monuments Laboratory, English Heritage Centre for Archaeology, Fort Cumberland, Eastney, Portsmouth, United Kingdom2

Received 20 August 2004/ Returned for modification 28 October 2004/ Accepted 6 January 2005

The earliest known case of human tuberculosis in Britain dates to the middle period of the Iron Age, approximately 2,200 years before present. Bone lesions on the spine of a male skeleton excavated at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset, United Kingdom, show evidence of Pott's disease and are supported by molecular evidence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA amplified by IS6110 PCR (19). In the present study, we used a further series of sensitive PCR methods to confirm the diagnosis of tuberculosis and to determine the genotype of the infecting strain. These tests demonstrated that this individual was infected with a strain of M. tuberculosis rather than Mycobacterium bovis. The strain had undergone the tuberculosis D1 deletion affecting the mmpS6 and mmpL6 genes and can therefore be identified as a member of the family of "modern" M. tuberculosis isolates. All evidence obtained was consistent with surviving mycobacterial DNA being highly fragmented in this case.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, CMMI, Imperial College, Flowers Building, Armstrong Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (0) 207-594-3090. Fax: 44 (0) 207-594-3095. E-mail: gm.taylor{at}imperial.ac.uk.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2005, p. 2236-2240, Vol. 43, No. 5
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.5.2236-2240.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Taylor, G. M., Murphy, E., Hopkins, R., Rutland, P., Chistov, Y. (2007). First report of Mycobacterium bovis DNA in human remains from the Iron Age. Microbiology 153: 1243-1249 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barnes, I., Thomas, M. G (2006). Evaluating bacterial pathogen DNA preservation in museum osteological collections. Proc R Soc B 273: 645-653 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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