Viable bacterial spores recovered from an archaeological excavation

Seaward, M. R. D.; Cross, T.; Unsworth, Bridget A.

doi:10.1038/261407a0

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…However, other studies have indicated much greater longevity. Viable Thermoactinomyces spores were cultured by Seaward et al. (1976) from beneath living floors in pre‐Hadrianic building in Vindolanda, Northumbria, UK, that were covered 1890 years ago, and in East Anglian lake sediments that were deposited 2750 years ago (Cross and Attwell 1974).…”

Section: Dormancy and Longevitymentioning

confidence: 99%

History of science – spores.

Gould

2006

J Appl Microbiol

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Bacterial endospores were first studied 130 years ago by Cohn in 1876 and independently by Koch in the same year. Although spore dormancy and resistance have been much studied since then, questions still remain concerning the basic mechanisms and the kinetics of heat inactivation in particular. Likewise, the extreme dormancy and longevity of spores was recognized early on and later greatly extended but still evade complete understanding. Evidence has accumulated for the involvement of specific spore components such as calcium, dipicolinic acid, small acid soluble proteins in the core and peptidoglycan in the cortex. Involvement of physical factors too, such as the relative dehydration of the core, maybe in a high‐viscosity state or even in a glassy state, has added to appreciation of the multicomponent nature of dormancy and resistance. Spore‐former morphology formed the basis for early classification systems of sporeformers from about 1880 and consolidated in the mid‐1900s, well prior to the use of modern genetic procedures. With respect to sporulation, groundbreaking sequence studies in the 1950s provided the basis for later elucidation of the genetic control widely relevant to many cell differentiation mechanisms. With respect to the breaking of dormancy (activation and germination), the elucidation of mechanisms began in the 1940s following the observations of Hills at Porton who identified specific amino acid and riboside ‘germinants’, and laid the basis for the later genetic analyses, the identification of germinant receptor genes and the elucidation of key germination reactions. The nonexponential nature of germination kinetics has thwarted the development of practical Tyndallization‐like processing. So inactivation by heat remains the premier method of spore control, the basis of a huge worldwide industry, and still relying on the basic kinetics of inactivation of Clostridium botulinum spores, and the reasoning regarding safety first evolved by Bigelow et al. in 1920 and Esty and Meyer in 1922. ‘Newer’ processes such as treatment with ionizing radiation (first proposed in 1905) and high hydrostatic pressure (first proposed in 1899) may be introduced if consumer resistance and some remaining technical barriers could be overcome.

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Section: Dormancy and Longevitymentioning

confidence: 99%

History of science – spores.

Gould

2006

J Appl Microbiol

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“…However the burden of proof would fall on anyone who attempted to make such a statement, since this would imply bacterial spore ages of many thousands of years.' Since then, bacteria have been isolated from deposits which can be accurately dated and where contamination can be excluded, such as lake sediments (Cross & Atwell, 1974;Parduhn & Watterson, 1985;Nilsson & Renberg, 1990) and archaeological material (Seaward et al, 1976;Unsworth et al, 1977). To date, the oldest viable spores that we are aware of are about 9000 years old, which was also the oldest sediment from which isolation was made (Nilsson & Renberg, 1990).…”

Section: Longevity Of Microorganismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dormant bacteria in lake sediments as palaeoecological indicators

Renberg

Nilsson

1992

J Paleolimnol

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Lake sediments contain viable allochthonous bacteria that can be cultured and used for palaeoecological studies. To be a good palaeoindicator, a bacterium must be able to survive in sediments for long periods of time, but also be unable to reproduce in the lake bottom. Bacteria can survive the unfavourable environmental conditions in lake sediments as resting cells. The endospore is the most specialized form and gives the bacterium an extreme longevity. The oldest viable endospores isolated from lake sediments that we are aware of are about 9000 years old.Several species, mainly in the genera Thermoactinomyces, Bacillus and Clostridium, form endospores. Clostridium perfringens has been used as palaeoindicator for sewage pollution, while Thermoactinomyces vulgaris is an indicator for past agricultural activity in the boreal forest zone and a potential climatic indicator in other vegetation zones. Although isolation and enumeration of bacterial endospores from lake sediments is rather easy and has considerable potential as a powerful tool in palaeoecology, the number of studies using palaeoecological approaches is limited.

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“…In addition to the vertical transmission of genomes from one generation to the other, the acquisition of DNA from other organisms leading to a horizontal spread of genetic information seem to be important factors in microbial evolution [23]. Therefore, isolates of ancient microorganisms such as those obtained in this study may prove useful for investigating evolutionary trends, especially as this has been claimed for isolates of Therrnoactinomyces which were less than 2000 years old [19]. This increases the likelihood that the effects of vertical and horizontal genome transmission become obvious.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Under specific circumstances, plant seeds, bacteria and fungi remain viable over a considerable period of time [16][17][18][19][20]. Samples from lake sediments deposited approx.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microorganisms surviving for 5300 years

Haselwandter¹

1994

FEMS Microbiology Letters

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Recently, the well-preserved corpse of a prehistoric man with an age of approximately 5300 years bp was discovered in the Central European Alps. Analysis of materials associated with the individual has revealed the presence of microorganisms which are believed to have survived since the time of death. So far, two fungi have been isolated and identified as species of the genera Chaetomium and Absidia, respectively. In addition, we have obtained one bacterial isolate which we have identified as a Streptomyces species. Our findings demonstrate that microorganisms can remain viable under appropriate circumstances for thousands of years. The isolates may enable us to study evolutionary trends within microorganisms.

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Viable bacterial spores recovered from an archaeological excavation

Cited by 30 publications

References 2 publications

History of science – spores.

History of science – spores.

Dormant bacteria in lake sediments as palaeoecological indicators

Microorganisms surviving for 5300 years

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