Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek’s disease virus

The pronounced growth in livestock populations since the 1950s has altered the epidemiological and evolutionary trajectory of their associated pathogens. For example, Marek’s disease virus (MDV), which causes lymphoid tumors in chickens, has experienced a marked increase in virulence over the past century. Today, MDV infections kill >90% of unvaccinated birds, and controlling it costs more than US$1 billion annually. By sequencing MDV genomes derived from archeological chickens, we demonstrate that it has been circulating for at least 1000 years. We functionally tested the Meq oncogene, one of 49 viral genes positively selected in modern strains, demonstrating that ancient MDV was likely incapable of driving tumor formation. Our results demonstrate the power of ancient DNA approaches to trace the molecular basis of virulence in economically relevant pathogens

Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek's disease virus

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Association for the Advancement of Science via the DOI in this recordData and materials availability: All MDV sequence data generated have been deposited in GenBank under accession PRJEB64489. Code is available at GitHub (https://github.com/antonisdim/MDV) and archived at Zenodo (https://zenodo.org/records/10022436) (25).The pronounced growth in livestock populations since the 1950s has altered the epidemiological and evolutionary trajectory of their associated pathogens. For example, Marek's disease virus (MDV), which causes lymphoid tumors in chickens, has experienced a marked increase in virulence over the past century. Today, MDV infections kill >90% of unvaccinated birds, and controlling it costs more than US$1 billion annually. By sequencing MDV genomes derived from archeological chickens, we demonstrate that it has been circulating for at least 1000 years. We functionally tested the Meq oncogene, one of 49 viral genes positively selected in modern strains, demonstrating that ancient MDV was likely incapable of driving tumor formation. Our results demonstrate the power of ancient DNA approaches to trace the molecular basis of virulence in economically relevant pathogens.European Research Council (ERC)Wellcome TrustOxford Martin School Pandemic Genomics ProgrammeArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)European Union Horizon 2020Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Research Foundation–Flanders (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

Kœstlach-Mœrnach, Haut-Rhin " Kastelberg ". Un site fortifié hallstattien sur les premiers contreforts jurassiens

Rapport de fouille programmée, dactylographié, PAIR, SRA Alsace, Sélestat-Strasbourg, 2012, 116 p., 92 fig

Mittelschaeffolsheim (67) : " Gute Abwand " : Indices d'occupations du Néolithique récent et du Premier Âge du Fer

Rapport de fouille, Pôle d'Archéologie Interdépartemental Rhénan, SRA Alsace, Sélestat, 2011, 152 p., ill

" Vestiges d'un habitat rural du XIe siècle : le Nouzeau à Gurgy (Yonne) "

Jolly V., Ravoire F. (dir.)International audienc

" Vestiges d'un habitat rural du XIe siècle : le Nouzeau à Gurgy (Yonne) "

Jolly V., Ravoire F. (dir.)International audienceLe site du Nouzeau à Gurgy (Yonne) est un habitat du Moyen Âge central, caractérisé par des structures fossoyées (cabanes excavées, fosses, silos) qui paraît assez isolé – mais la limite sud de son extension n’a pu être fouillée. Son statut a pu être appréhendé grâce à la découverte d’un outillage métallique abondant, varié et caractéristique. Un assemblage de restes fauniques témoigne des pratiques agro-pastorales spécifiques qui pourraient révéler un site d’élevage d’ovins, bien que des volailles, des porcs, des bovins et des équidés soient aussi présents. Des couteaux, une pointe de flèche et surtout des éléments de serrures, une coupelle et une clé de porte sont autant de témoins matériels singuliers dans un tel contexte. Le mobilier céramique, abondant, permet de dater le site et d’entrevoir ses réseaux d’approvisionnement en poterie de terre. Cette exploitation pourrait être liée à une dépendance monastique de l’abbaye Saint-Germain d’Auxerre

" Vestiges d'un habitat rural du XIe siècle : le Nouzeau à Gurgy (Yonne) "

Jolly V., Ravoire F. (dir.)International audienc

New data about the consumption of fish from the Alsace Region, France

International audienceThis study provides an overview of 11 archaeological sites that yielded fish boneremains from the Roman period through medieval to modern contexts. It bringsnew knowledge about the consumption of fish for the Alsace region. Although thenumbers of remains vary greatly, some diachronic comparisons are possible. Themajority of the species represented in the assemblages from the inland sites sampledwere freshwater fishes, together with a few migratory fishes. Most individuals weresmall‐sized fishes, which may explain the type of structure analysed, for instance,latrines. Two wels catfish vertebrae indicate the presence of this species in France.European marine fishes such as cod and flatfish are very rare, and the importationof marine fish began more recently. However, some herring bones found in theRoman and early medieval period make a straightforward interpretation moredifficult

Past climate changes, population dynamics and the origin of Bison in Europe

International audienceBackground: Climatic and environmental fluctuations as well as anthropogenic pressure have led to theextinction of much of Europe’s megafauna. The European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus), one of the last wildEuropean large mammals, narrowly escaped extinction at the onset of the 20th century owing to hunting andhabitat fragmentation. Little is known, however, about its origin, evolutionary history and population dynamicsduring the Pleistocene.Results: Through ancient DNA analysis we show that the emblematic European bison has experienced severalwaves of population expansion, contraction, and extinction during the last 50,000 years in Europe, culminatingin a major reduction of genetic diversity during the Holocene. Fifty-seven complete and partial ancient mitogenomesfrom throughout Europe, the Caucasus, and Siberia reveal that three populations of wisent (Bison bonasus) andsteppe bison (B. priscus) alternately occupied Western Europe, correlating with climate-induced environmentalchanges. The Late Pleistocene European steppe bison originated from northern Eurasia, whereas the modernwisent population emerged from a refuge in the southern Caucasus after the last glacial maximum. A populationoverlap during a transition period is reflected in ca. 36,000-year-old paintings in the French Chauvet cave. Bayesiananalyses of these complete ancient mitogenomes yielded new dates of the various branching events during theevolution of Bison and its radiation with Bos, which lead us to propose that the genetic affiliation betweenthe wisent and cattle mitogenomes result from incomplete lineage sorting rather than post-speciation gene flow.Conclusion: The paleogenetic analysis of bison remains from the last 50,000 years reveals the influence ofclimate changes on the dynamics of the various bison populations in Europe, only one of which survived intothe Holocene, where it experienced severe reductions in its genetic diversity. The time depth and geographicalscope of this study enables us to propose temperate Western Europe as a suitable biotope for the wisentcompatible with its reintroduction