7th World Congress on Mummy Studies University of San Diego San ...

ABSTRACTS.–.Symposia
analysis. on. the. coprolites. or. sediments. which. could. be. obtained.
from. Korean. mummies.. By. our. experiments,. we. conclude. that.
PCR-based.analysis.could.be.applicable.to.the.molecular.detection.
of.Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides, Paragonimus westermani,
and.Clonorchis.sinensis in.archaeological.samples..Consensus.sequence.expressed.100%.homology.with.modern.genes.of.the.
species.from.GenBank..Applying.PCR.methods.to.further.study.on.
aDNA.of.various.parasite.species.from.geographically.and.temporally.wider.ranges.will.undoubtedly.improve.our.understanding.of.
evolution.of.the.species.
This.study.was.achieved.with.the.support.of.a.national.R&D.
project.hosted.by.the.National.Research.Institute.of.Cultural.Heritage.
of.the.Cultural.Heritage.Administration.(NRICH-1107-B09F-1).
143 Mummy Response to Pathogens, GILA KAHILA BAR-
GAL 1 *, ANAT LICHTER-PELED 1 , and MARK SPIGEL-
MAN 2 . ( 1 School. of. Veterinary. Medicine,. The. Hebrew. University.
of.Jerusalem,.Rehovot,.Israel;. 2 Centre.for.Infectious.Diseases.and.
International.Health,.Department.of.Infection,.Windeyer.Institute.
of.Medical.Sciences,.University.College.London,.London,.UK.and.
The.Kuvin.Centre.for.the.Study.of.Infectious.and.Tropical.Disease,.
Faculty.of.Medicine,.The.Hebrew.University.of.Jerusalem,.Jerusalem.91120,.Israel;.bargal@agri.huji.ac.il).In.the.last.30.years,.over.fifty.newly.identified.human.pathogens.
have. emerged. in. the. African. continent.. Therefore,. Africa.
offers. the. greatest. panorama. of. the. interaction. between. human.
evolution.and.infectious.diseases,.and.is.of.special.relevance.to.the.
“emerging. and. re-emerging”. diseases..The. origin. of. a. disease. in.
Africa.and.its.migration.with.man.out.of.Africa.is.a.common.story.
in.today’s.emerging.diseases..The.main.agents.causing.the.diseases.
are.zoonotic.and.are.transmitted.from.animals.to.man.either.directly.
or.via.vectors..
Bacterial.and.viral.diseases.have.made.a.heavy.impact.on.our.
society.in.the.past.and.are.still.part.of.our.everyday.lives.today..The.
survival.of.humans.and.other.species.relies.heavily.on.their.ability.
to.fight.disease.through.the.immune.system..Genetic.characterization.of.the.immune.response.among.ancient.specimens,.especially.
Nubian.and.Hungarian.mammies.known.to.be.infected,.makes.it.
possible.to.study.the.genetic.factors.influencing.human.resistance/
susceptibility.to.pathogens.in.historical.times.
144 Analysis of Ancient Mummy DNA – Problems and Perspectives,
ALBERT. zINK*, ANGELA GRAEFEN, CHRISTIAN
MITTERER, and FRANK MAIXNER.(EURAC.–.Institute.for.
Mummies. and. the. Iceman,.Viale. Druso. 1,. 39100. Bolzano,. Italy;.
albert.zink@eurac.edu).
The.analysis.of.ancient.DNA.(aDNA).from.mummies.offers.
unique. possibilities. for. the. study. of. their. origin,. family. relationships.
and. diseases.. Several. reports. have. been. published. on. the.
molecular. investigation. of. ancient. pathogen. DNA. in. mummies,.
revealing.important.information.on.the.occurrence,.frequency.and.
evolution.of.infectious.diseases,.such.as.tuberculosis.and.malaria..
In.other.studies,.the.feasibility.of.aDNA.for.determining.the.genetic.
relationships.of.Royal.Egyptian.mummies.have.been.demonstrated.
Nevertheless,.the.analysis.of.aDNA.from.mummies.is.often.
severely.hampered.by.the.presence.of.PCR-inhibiting.substances.
either.introduced.during.the.mummification.process,.e.g..embalming.material.in.Egyptian.mummies,.or.from.the.environment.during.
the.course.of.natural.preservation,.such.as.the.presence.of.humic.
acids.in.bog.bodies..Therefore,.many.well-established.protocols.for.
94
the.extraction.of.aDNA.from.bone.samples.cannot.be.directly.used.
for.mummy.tissues.without.additional.working.steps..Up.to.now,.
only.a.few.studies.have.addressed.the.preservation.of.aDNA.in.soft.
tissue..Recently,.we.have.tested.several.different.extraction.methods.and.are.currently.developing.new.protocols.specifically.adapted.
to.preserved.soft.tissue,.such.as.skin,.muscle.or.inner.organs.and.to.
overcome.inhibition.problems..
In. summary,. the. excellent. overall. preservation. of. mummies.makes.them.a.valuable.source.for.aDNA.studies,.but.further.
research. is. necessary. to. understand. the. specific. requirements. for.
optimized.mummy.tissue.aDNA.extraction.protocols.
145 Progress Report on the Progress of Scientific Studies of Three
Large Mummy Collections: Results and Prospects,. MARK SPI-
GELMAN. (Centre. for. Infectious. Diseases. and. International.
Health,. Department. of. Infection,. Windeyer. Institute. of. Medical.
Sciences,.University.College.London,.London,.UK.and.The.Kuvin.
Centre.for.the.Study.of.Infectious.and.Tropical.Disease,.Faculty.of.
Medicine,.The.Hebrew.University.of.Jerusalem,.Jerusalem.91120,.
Israel;.spigelman@btinternet.com).
We. have. for. many. years. been. studying. scientifically. three.
large.mummy.collections..Initially.we.started.with.the.Hungarian.
collection. of. almost. 250. mummies. from.Vac. with. the. assistance.
of.Ildico.Pap.and.colleagues..Then.we.were.able.to.study.the.400.
mummies.from.Kulubnarti.in.Northern.Sudan.located.in.Boulder.
Colorado.with.the.assistance.of.Sue.Sheridan.and.Dick.Van.Gervan..
More.recently.we.have.commenced.collaboration.with.Dong.Hoon.
Shin.on.the.Korean.mummies.
Our.studies.started.with.simple.identification.of.small.pieces.
of.DNA.using.PCR.techniques.to.show.the.presence.or.absence.of.
DNA.of.mycobacterium.tuberculosis..This.presentation.will.overview.almost.20.years.of.studies.and.discuss.how.technology.has.
advanced.and.allowed.us.to.revisit.time.and.again.our.collection.
and.glean.more.and.more.data.from.the.individuals.concerned.with.
the.aid.of.numerous.dedicated.scientist..Furthermore,.we.have.now.
branched.out.into.areas.other.then.DNA.to.gain.more.information.
in.related.fields.and.discuss.the.implications.for.the.future.as.well.
as.conveying.our.more.recent.results.and.how.they.can.improve.our.
knowledge.base.
146 Panel Discussion on the Importance of aDNA and Biomolecules
in the Study of Ancient Mummies, MARK SPIGELMAN 1 *
and DONG HOON SHIN 2 *.( 1 Centre.for.Infectious.Diseases.and.
International.Health,.Department.of.Infection,.Windeyer.Institute.
of.Medical.Sciences,.University.College.London,.London,.UK.and.
The.Kuvin.Centre.for.the.Study.of.Infectious.and.Tropical.Disease,.
Faculty.of.Medicine,.Hebrew.University.of.Jerusalem,.Jerusalem.
91120,.Israel;. 2 Anthropology.and.Paleopathology.Lab,.Department.
of.Anatomy,.Seoul.National.University.College.of.Medicine,.28,.
Yongon-dong,.Chongno-gu,.Seoul.110-799,.Korea;. 2 Department.of.
Anatomy,.Dankook.University,.College.of.Medicine,.Choenan.330-
715,.Korea;.spigelman@btinternet.com,.radyds@dankook.ac.kr).
Ancient.DNA.and.Associated.biomolecules.form.an.important.
and. growing. part. of. research. associated. with. mummy. studies..A.
panel.discussion.on.the.progress.of.the.science.as.well.as.its.future.
direction.would.help.mummy.researches.better.understand.how.this.
type.of.investigation.can.assist.workers.in.the.field.to.learn.more.
about.this.research.and.how.it.can.contribute.to.a.better.understanding.of.the.life.and.death.of.mummies.