title: Neonate human remains: a window of opportunity to the molecular study of ancient syphilis.
abstract: Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis can be a useful tool in bacterial disease diagnosis in human remains. However, while the recovery of Mycobacterium spp. has been widely successful, several authors report unsuccessful results regarding ancient treponemal DNA, casting doubts on the usefulness of this technique for the diagnosis of ancient syphilis. Here, we present results from an analysis of four newborn specimens recovered from the crypt of "La Ermita de la Soledad" (XVI-XVII centuries), located in the province of Huelva in the southwest of Spain. We extracted and analyzed aDNA in three independent laboratories, following specific procedures generally practiced in the aDNA field, including cloning of the amplified DNA fragments and sequencing of several clones. This is the most ancient case, reported to date, from which detection of DNA from T. pallidum subspecies pallidum has been successful in more than one individual, and we put forward a hypothesis to explain this result, taking into account the course of the disease in neonate individuals.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Montiel
authors.forename: Eduvigis
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Solórzano
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Brenda A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Sandoval
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González-Ruiz
authors.forename: Mari Pau
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cañadas
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isidro
authors.forename: Assumpció
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malgosa
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013030:Spain; D013587:Syphilis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial