Ancient Pathogens Through Human History: A Paleogenomic Perspective

Ancient bacterial and viral genomes provide a window into the tempo, chronology, and rate of evolutionary processes of pathogens that have accompanied humans throughout history, from catastrophic pandemics (e.g., Yersinia pestis and the Black Death) to diseases associated with “everyday” morbidity and mortality (e.g., tuberculosis, leprosy, hepatitis B virus). Excitingly, the scope of pathogens that can be explored using ancient DNA methods is …