Decoding past microbial life and antibiotic resistance in İnonü Cave’s archaeological soil

作者：Şükran Öztürk, F. Gülden Ekmen, Hamza Ekmen, Esra Mine Ünal, Ayşe Er, Emre Keskin, Benjamin S. Arbuckle · 发表于：PLoS ONE · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0326358 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Building materials and conservation、Conservation Techniques and Studies、Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies

This study, which bridges the disciplines of archaeology and microbiology, examines the ancient bacterial communities and antibiotic-resistance genes in soil samples collected from İnönü Cave in Zonguldak, Turkiye. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding of historical human activities and their influence on microbial communities. Soil samples were gathered from four distinct cultural levels from the Chalcolithic Age to the Early Iron Age. The microbial communities were characterized, and antibiotic-resistance genes were identified using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and metagenomic studies. This interdisciplinary approach not only enriches our understanding of ancient microbial communities but also opens up new avenues for research and collaboration. The results of our study showed a wide range of microorganisms, including prominent bacterial groups such as Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, Bacteroidota, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Myxococcota, and Proteobacteria. The study identified the presence of the tetracycline resistance gene tetA in Chalcolithic samples, the class 1 integron intl1 in Early Bronze Age samples, and the oxacillinase gene OXA58 in Late Bronze Age samples. These findings underscore the long-term impact of human activities on microbial communities, as antibiotic-resistance genes have been present and have remained over various historical periods, perhaps influenced by both human activities and environmental variables....