An analysis of DNA extracted from medieval victims and survivors of the Black Death shows that the monumental plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th century continues to impact our biology to this day.
, they'll have an opportunity to conceive more children who will also have sickle cell anemia. Over time, the incidence of sickle cell anemia rises within populations living in malaria-prone regions.
"When a pandemic of this nature – killing 30 to 50 per cent of the population – occurs, there is bound to be selection for protective alleles in humans, which is to say people susceptible to the circulating pathogen will succumb,""Even a slight advantage means the difference between surviving or passing. Of course, those survivors who are of breeding age will pass on their genes.
By comparing the genomes of these individuals, the researchers were able to identify four genes that were associated with the Black Death, selected for with a speed never seen either before or since in human history. Those genes produce proteins that help protect our bodies from invading pathogens, and individuals with one or more of these gene variants seemed to have been more likely to survive the plague.
In particular, individuals with two identical copies of a gene called ERAP2 were around 40 to 50 percent more likely to survive the plague than those with the opposite copies, which seem to have instead conferred increased susceptibility.
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