title: Osteological, biomolecular and geochemical examination of an early anglo-saxon case of lepromatous leprosy.
abstract: We have examined a 5th to 6th century inhumation from Great Chesterford, Essex, UK. The incomplete remains are those of a young male, aged around 21-35 years at death. The remains show osteological evidence of lepromatous leprosy (LL) and this was confirmed by lipid biomarker analysis and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, which provided evidence for both multi-copy and single copy loci from the Mycobacterium leprae genome. Genotyping showed the strain belonged to the 3I lineage, but the Great Chesterford isolate appeared to be ancestral to 3I strains found in later medieval cases in southern Britain and also continental Europe. While a number of contemporaneous cases exist, at present, this case of leprosy is the earliest radiocarbon dated case in Britain confirmed by both aDNA and lipid biomarkers. Importantly, Strontium and Oxygen isotope analysis suggest that the individual is likely to have originated from outside Britain. This potentially sheds light on the origins of the strain in Britain and its subsequent spread to other parts of the world, including the Americas where the 3I lineage of M. leprae is still found in some southern states of America.
authors.affiliation: Faculteit Archaeologie, Universiteit Leiden, 2311 BE, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Inskip
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial and Cellular Sciences, School of Biosciences and Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7TE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: G Michael
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sonia R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Zakrzewski
authors.affiliation: Ancient Monuments Laboratory, English Heritage Centre for Archaeology, Fort Cumberland, Fort Cumberland Road, Eastney, Portsmouth PO4 9LD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Simon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mays
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alistair W G
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Pike
authors.affiliation: EPSRC National Mass Spectrometry Facility, Institute of Mass Spectrometry, College of Medicine, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Llewellyn
authors.affiliation: EPSRC National Mass Spectrometry Facility, Institute of Mass Spectrometry, College of Medicine, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Oona Y-C
authors.initials: OY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Houdini H T
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Minnikin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gurdyal S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Besra
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial and Cellular Sciences, School of Biosciences and Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7TE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Graham R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D005360:Fibula / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D015440:Leprosy, Lepromatous / Q000266:history* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008055:Lipids / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D008682:Metatarsal Bones / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D059166:Osteology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013628:Talus / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D008055:Lipids