title: The Cause of Death of a Child in the 18th Century Solved by Bone Microbiome Typing Using Laser Microdissection and Next Generation Sequencing.
abstract: The history of medicine abounds in cases of mysterious deaths, especially by infectious diseases, which were probably unresolved because of the lack of knowledge and of appropriate technology. The aim of this study was to exploit contemporary technologies to try to identify the cause of death of a young boy who died from a putative "infection" at the end of the 18th century, and for whom an extraordinarily well-preserved minute bone fragment was available. After confirming the nature of the sample, we used laser microdissection to select the most "informative" area to be examined. Tissue genotyping indicated male gender, thereby confirming the notary's report. 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing showed thatProteobacteriaandActinobacteriawere more abundant thanFirmicutesandBacteroidetes, and thatPseudomonaswas the most abundant bacterial genus in thePseudomonadaceaefamily. These data suggest that the patient most likely died from Pseudomonas osteomyelitis. This case is an example of how new technological approaches, like laser microdissection and next-generation sequencing, can resolve ancient cases of uncertain etiopathology. Lastly, medical samples may contain a wealth of information that may not be accessible until more sophisticated technology becomes available. Therefore, one may envisage the possibility of systematically storing medical samples for evaluation by future generations.
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. dargenio@ceinge.unina.it.|Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples Federico II, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. dargenio@ceinge.unina.it.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: D'Argenio
authors.affiliation: Department of Paleopathology, University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, via Suor Orsola 10, 80125 Naples, Italy. marielvatorino@libero.it.
authors.forename: Marielva
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torino
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. precone@ceinge.unina.it.
authors.forename: Vincenza
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Precone
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. giorgio.casaburi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casaburi
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. espositomari@ceinge.unina.it.
authors.forename: Maria Valeria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. iaffaldano@ceinge.unina.it.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iaffaldano
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. umberto.malapelle@unina.it.
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Malapelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. giancarlo.troncone@unina.it.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Troncone
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. iolanda.coto@unina.it.|Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnologies, University of Naples Federico II, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. iolanda.coto@unina.it.
authors.forename: Iolanda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Coto
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Unit, Hospital of Cosenza, via San Martino, 87100 Cosenza, Italy. batteriologia@libero.it.
authors.forename: Paolina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. gaderosa@unina.it.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Rosa
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. salvator@unina.it.|IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico)-Fondazione SDN, via Gianturco 113, 80143 Naples, Italy. salvator@unina.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salvatore
authors.affiliation: CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate, via G. Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy. sacchett@unina.it.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sacchetti
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D041963:Bacteroidetes / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000382:microbiology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D000068536:Bacillota / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005838:Genotype; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D061346:Laser Capture Microdissection; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000266:history / Q000382:microbiology; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000266:history / Q000382:microbiology; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: cold case; human microbiome; metagenomics; next generation sequencing