Although smallpox has been known for centuries, the oldest available variola virus strains were isolated in the early 1940s. At that time, large regions of the world were already smallpox-free. Therefore, genetic information of these strains can represent only the very last fraction of a long evolutionary process. Based on the genomes of 48 strains, two clades are differentiated: Clade 1 includes variants of variola major, and clade 2 includes West African and variola minor (Alastrim) strains. Recently, the genome of an almost 400-year-old Lithuanian mummy was determined, which fell basal to all currently sequenced strains of variola virus on phylogenetic trees. Here, we determined two complete variola virus genomes from human tissues kept in a museum in Prague dating back 60 and 160 years, respectively. Moreover, mass spectrometry-based proteomic, chemical, and microscopic examinations were performed. The 60-year-old specimen was most likely an importation from India, a country with endemic smallpox at that time. The genome of the 160-year-old specimen is related to clade 2 West African and variola minor strains. This sequence likely represents a new endemic European variant of variola virus circulating in the midst of the 19th century in Europe.

• Keywords
• evolution, historic specimen, next generation sequencing, phylogeny, smallpox, variola virus,
• MeSH
• History, 19th Century MeSH
• History, 20th Century MeSH
• DNA, Viral genetics   MeSH
• Phylogeny MeSH
• Genome, Viral * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Evolution, Molecular MeSH
• Museums * MeSH
• Polymerase Chain Reaction MeSH
• Smallpox epidemiology   history   virology   MeSH
• Proteomics MeSH
• Variola virus classification   genetics   MeSH
• High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing MeSH
• Check Tag
• History, 19th Century MeSH
• History, 20th Century MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Historical Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Europe epidemiology   MeSH
• India epidemiology   MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA, Viral MeSH

This study deals with age estimation based on colour changes of human tissue from the intervertebral discs, Achilles tendon and rib cartilage. The investigated colour changes are the result of the accumulation of non-enzymatic browning products in the tissue. Samples of excised tissues were photographed with a digital camera and the pictures were evaluated using the image analysis processor Lucia G 4.11 processor. The values of the intensities of the RGB channels (MeanRed, Mean Green, MeanBlue) and parameters from the IHS system (MeanSaturation, HueTypical, HueVariation, BrightVariation and MeanBrightness) were evaluated. The results confirm that colour changes of some tissues depend on ageing and are a good tool for age estimation.

• MeSH
• Achilles Tendon pathology   MeSH
• Color * MeSH
• Biomarkers MeSH
• Cartilage pathology   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Photography MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Intervertebral Disc pathology   MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Image Processing, Computer-Assisted MeSH
• Glycation End Products, Advanced metabolism   MeSH
• Reproducibility of Results MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Forensic Sciences instrumentation   methods   MeSH
• Aging pathology   MeSH
• Ribs MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Biomarkers MeSH
• Glycation End Products, Advanced MeSH