New Study Challenges Belief that Black Death Plague Caused Genetic Changes in Affected Populations: Experts Raise Questions

Black Death Plague and Genetic Variants: New Study Challenges Previous Beliefs

A team of scientists from different disciplines found little evidence that the Black Death plague caused genetic variants to appear in affected populations.

The Black Death Plague

The Black Death plague affected people living in Europe and parts of Africa and Asia in the mid-14th century, and is believed to have killed about 25 million people, with some countries seeing the loss of 65% of their population.

New Revelations

Last year, scientists discovered that the plague was actually a bacterial infection carried by wild rodents. In the recent study, archaeologists, geneticists and pathologists from institutions across Europe analyzed the genomes of 275 individuals buried in Cambridgeshire, England, who lived before and after the Black Death of the 14th century in the same area to see if they could find any genetic changes.

Challenging previous Black Death beliefs

Experts aim to understand the impact of the Black Death on population genetic variations as well as explore whether the epidemic shaped the susceptibility of the surviving population to genetic diseases. Previous studies have linked the medieval plague to the development of types of immunity in some populations. However, the latest insights from the new study show that ancient DNA did not reflect any major changes in genetic differences around diversity or immune genes linked to the pandemic. This discovery challenges this typical idea, and raises questions about the extent and consistency of genetic responses to historical epidemics.

Understanding the Genetic Impact

The researchers suggest that immune responses to Yersinia pestis, the bacteria responsible for the Black Death, could relate to multiple yet-to-be-revealed pathways. This could contribute to understanding the genetic impact of plague on diverse populations.

Insights into Social Structure

The researchers explained in a statement that their analyzes revealed details about social structure in Cambridgeshire, including connectivity and long-term shifts in local genetic lineage due to immigration from the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark. “These results do not mean that the plague did not have a selective effect on genetic diversity in Cambridge,” the researchers noted.

Conclusion

The researchers used DNA data to study changes in genetic variations related to diversity and immune genes before and after the Black Death. The study was published in the journal Science Advances on January 17. Source: Interesting Engineering

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