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Title: | Using the distribution of the CCR5-D32 allele in third-generation Maltese citizens to disprove the Black Death hypothesis |
Authors: | Baron, Byron Schembri Wismayer, Pierre |
Keywords: | Black Death -- Malta -- History Diseases and history -- Malta Chemokines -- Receptors Malta -- Population -- History Antiviral agents -- History |
Issue Date: | 2011 |
Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
Citation: | Baron, B., & Schembri‐Wismayer, P. (2011). Using the distribution of the CCR5‐Δ32 allele in third‐generation Maltese citizens to disprove the Black Death hypothesis. International Journal of Immunogenetics, 38(2), 139-143. |
Abstract: | Malta was under Norman rule for over 400 years and has had three major documented plague outbreaks (and a number of minor ones) since the 14th century with death tolls of 5–15% of the population at the time. This makes the Maltese population ideal for testing the hypothesis that the Black Death (particularly that of 1346–52) was responsible for a genetic shift that spread the CCR5-D32 allele. By enrolling 300 blood donors to determine the percentage of the Maltese population resistant to HIV-1 (which uses the CCR5-receptor to infect cells), it was established that the CCR5-D32 allele frequency is almost zero in third-generation Maltese citizens and sequencing showed that the deletion observed in the region of interest is the 32-base deletion expected. Thus, despite the extensive Norman occupation and the repeated plague cullings, the CCR5-D32 allele frequency is extremely low. This provides a basis for the discussion of conflicting hypotheses regarding the possible origin, function and spread of the CCR5- D32 deletion |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98319 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - CenMMB |
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