Ancient DNA study provides clues to leprosy susceptibility in medieval Europe
This study demonstrates the potential of ancient DNA in the identification of genetic variants involved in predisposition to diseases that are no longer present in Europe but remain endemic elsewhere. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reason behind the temporal frequency shift, past epidemics of infectious diseases have likely influenced the HLA pool in present-day Europe.
Authors
- Dorthe Dangvard Pedersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4709-9170)
- Katharina Fuchs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0570-9337)
- Lars Agersnap Larsen
- Nicolas Antonio da Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1537-3286)
- Jesper L. Boldsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2850-0934)
- D. Myburgh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2380-7490)
- A Nebel
- Ben Krause‐Kyora (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9435-2872)
- Lone Seeberg
- Dirk Rieger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9867-4219)
- Nicolás Mendoza Mejía
- Andreas Prescher
- Onur Ӧzer
- Morten Søvsø
- Amke Caliebe
- Joanna H. Romeyer-Dherbey
Institutions
- University of Southern Denmark (DK)
- Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel (DE)
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
- Yale University (US)
- Regionshospitalet Viborg (DK)
- Natural History Museum Aarhus (DK)
- Regional Hospital Horsens (DK)
- Clinical Research Center Kiel (DE)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- University of Lübeck (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Genome biology
- Published
- 2026-01-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03925-8
- Primary Topic
- Leprosy Research and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft