Though digging through a latrine from the 14th century is not the most glamorous of tasks, scientists have found viruses that contain genes for antibiotic resistance in fossilized human feces from ancient Belgium.
The feces are from a time long before antibiotics were used, and the investigators say it provides evidence that the human gut has remained unchanged after centuries.
They publish the results of their study in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
But how does one find fecal samples from 700 years ago? The scientists say their research began when an urban renewal project in Belgium uncovered latrines from the 1300s beneath a square.
In 1996, the specimen was excavated and collected from inside a closed barrel, which was frequently used as a toilet in that era. The team notes that the barrel was still intact when it was found, which suggests the sample was protected from contamination for centuries.
Additionally, the team took "extensive precautions" to avoid contamination of the sample both at the site and in the lab.
After analyzing the ancient feces, the team found phages, which are viruses that infect bacteria, rather than eukaryotic organisms - such as plants, animals and fungi.
They compared the fossilized sample's DNA virome with the viromes of 21 modern human stool specimens and found that many of the viral sequences were related to viruses known today to infect bacteria in stools.
The researchers say this includes both bacteria that live harmlessly - and sometimes helpfully - in the human gut and human pathogens.
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