Overview
- The Indiana University–led study, published Oct. 22 in PLOS One, analyzed ten desiccated human feces from La Cueva de Los Muertos Chiquitos in Durango, Mexico.
- Validated qPCR assays with lower detection limits than untargeted sequencing identified pathogens not previously found in ancient feces, including Blastocystis and multiple E. coli strains.
- Pinworm DNA was detected in the majority of samples, and signatures of Shigella and Giardia were also present.
- The results indicate intestinal infections may have been common among the Loma San Gabriel people, but the small, targeted dataset constrains population-level inferences.
- The arid cave context aided preservation, and the use of human-specific targets provides a tool to distinguish human waste in future paleomicrobiology work.