[Detection of DNA specific for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in archeological material using the polymerase chain...

The paleopathological diagnosis of bone tuberculosis in archeological findings may be confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). If the M. tuberculosis-specific DNA fragment is amplified, then the presence of this microorganism in the sample is demonstrated. The pilot study presented investigated whether our molecular biology laboratory can collaborate with anthropologists in paleopathological analyses and to verify the use of the commercial diagnostic kit Cleanmix (Talent, Italy), for DNA isolation from archeological samples. The results were compared with the conclusions of anthropologists. Successful amplification of specific DNA fragments was achieved in a specimen from the period of the 13th to 15th century. The specimen consists of four thoracic vertebrae modified by osseous tuberculosis (gibbus). The PCR result was also positive in a five-year-old femur sample of a patient with chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. All other specimens of various ages but without macroscopic symptoms of osseous tuberculosis, were PCR negative. These results suggest that it is possible to detect former infections with pathogenic microorganisms in archeological bones find.