The “neolithic” microbial flora of the Iceman’s grass: morphological description and DNA analysis

Rollo, Franco; Antonini, Silvia; Ubaldi, Massimo; Asci, Walter

doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-6599-7_9

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

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Analysis of bacterial DNA in skin and muscle of the Tyrolean iceman offers new insight into the mummification process

Rollo

Luciani

Canapa

et al. 2000

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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About 80 sequences (16s ribosomal RNA gene) of bacterial DNA in samples of skin and muscle taken directly from the Tyrolean iceman (3350-3100 years B.C.) or recovered during the 1992 archaeological expedition at the Alpine site were analyzed to obtain clues to the natural mummification process that allowed the corpse of the Neolithic shepherd/hunter to be preserved for more than 5,000 years. The investigation was made more complex by the fact that the surface of the mummy had been swabbed with phenol soon after the discovery (September 19, 1991). Our results show that no trace of microbial DNA is left on the actual surface of the body, while the untreated skin still bears the remains of large numbers of bacteria belonging to the genera Sphingomonas, Afipia, Curtobacterium, Microbacterium, Agromyces, and others. Compared to the untreated skin, the iceman's muscle is also very rich in bacterial DNA. However, this DNA comes, with few exceptions, from the species Clostridium algidicarnis. The sharp difference in the bacterial DNA composition of skin and muscle suggests that the remains of the original cadaveric microflora of the latter have not disappeared during the iceman's taphonomic history. On the other hand, the massive presence of C. algidicarnis, a cold-adapted sporigenous, the DNA of which was previously (Ubaldi et al. [1998] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 107:285-295) found in the soft tissue of a naturally desiccated Andean mummy, indicates that the hypothesis that the iceman's corpse underwent rapid dehydration by the effect of a warm wind (föhn) is no longer plausible. The results best fit with the hypothesis (Bereuter et al. [1997] Chem. Eur. J. 7:1032-1038) that the body was first covered by snow and ice, and then underwent thawing and, finally, desiccation.

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Analysis of bacterial DNA in skin and muscle of the Tyrolean iceman offers new insight into the mummification process

Rollo

Luciani

Canapa

et al. 2000

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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Sequence analysis of bacterial DNA in the colon and stomach of the Tyrolean Iceman

Cano

Tiefenbrunner

Ubaldi

et al. 2000

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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The male human body found in an Alpine glacier on September 19, 1991 ("Tyrolean Iceman") has, for the first time in history, given scientists a chance to perform detailed anatomical, histological, and molecular investigations on the organs of a person from the Neolithic Age (5350-5100 B.P.). In the present study, tissue samples aseptically taken from the stomach and the colon of the mummy were utilized for DNA extraction, and the DNA was PCR-amplified, using primer pairs designed to bind to fragments of the 16s ribosomal RNA gene (16s rDNA) of a broad range of bacteria. The PCR products were cloned in plasmid vectors, and the recombinant clones (amplicons) were sequenced. The sequence data were finally used for scanning data libraries containing the corresponding sequences of present-day bacteria, to infer the putative ecophysiology of the ancient ones. The same procedure was repeated on some fragments of grass from the clothing found near the corpse. These fragments were taken as a control of the microbiological situation of the glacier. The results show that the flora of the Iceman's stomach is entirely composed of Burkholderia pickettii, an organism commonly found in aquatic habitats. The colon, on the other hand, contains several members of the fecal flora of humans, such as Clostridium perfringens, C. ghonii, C. sordellii, Eubacterium tenue, and Bacteroides sp. The Iceman's colon, however, was found to contain, rather unexpectedly, also some members of the genus Vibrio. The results are discussed in light of what is known about the preservation of microbial DNA at the Iceman's site and of previous parasitological studies performed on the Iceman himself and on human coprolites.

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Post-mortem alterations of human lipids — part II: lipid composition of a skin sample from the Iceman

et al. 1996

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The “neolithic” microbial flora of the Iceman’s grass: morphological description and DNA analysis

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

Analysis of bacterial DNA in skin and muscle of the Tyrolean iceman offers new insight into the mummification process

Analysis of bacterial DNA in skin and muscle of the Tyrolean iceman offers new insight into the mummification process

Sequence analysis of bacterial DNA in the colon and stomach of the Tyrolean Iceman

Post-mortem alterations of human lipids — part II: lipid composition of a skin sample from the Iceman

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