A team of USF and FAU researchers has uncovered direct genomic evidence of the bacterium behind the Plague of Justinian — the world’s first recorded pandemic —nearly 1,500 years ago. They sequenced genetic material from eight human teeth excavated from a mass grave in the ancient city of Jerash, Jordan, and identified the culprit as Yersinia pestis, the microbe that causes plague.
“This discovery provides the long-sought definitive proof of Y. pestis at the epicenter of the Plague of Justinian,” says USF’s Rays Jiang. “For centuries, we’ve relied on written accounts describing a devastating disease, but lacked any hard biological evidence of plague’s presence. Our findings provide the missing piece of that puzzle, offering the first direct genetic window into how this pandemic unfolded.”
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