From it killed about 60 million people.
German biologists have discovered that the causative agent in the plague epidemic known as the plague Justiniana, was particularly contagious strain of the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Scientists have identified the DNA of the microorganism from the skeletons of people who lived in the VI century of our era. The study is published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Biologists have studied human remains found in Altenerding — an ancient burial site located near Munich. Scientists were able to reconstruct the genome of Yersinia pestis that caused Justiniano pandemic. They also analyzed single-nucleotide polymorphisms — differences in DNA, resulting from point mutations (changes in individual nucleotides).
It turned out that the strain of Y. pestis responsible for the first pandemic, there are mutations involving three genes — nrdE, fadJ and pcp. The latter are critical for virulence (ability to infect) bacteria. In addition, it was found that Justiniana the plague Bacillus is different from the strain that caused the “Black death”, a unique genetic features. This suggests that the two types of bacteria have an independent origin and are distant relatives.
Justiniana plague broke out in 541 during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. the Epidemic quickly spread across Asia, North Africa and Europe, adopting the character of a pandemic. According to historical evidence, in Constantinople died every day about 10 thousand people.
The pandemic of bubonic plague “Black death” took place in the middle of the XIV century in Asia, Europe and North Africa. It is estimated that it killed about 60 million people.
