Abstract:
The Asian Central Steppe, consisting of current-day Kazakhstan and Russia, has acted as
a highway for major migrations throughout history. Therefore, describing the genetic composition
of past populations in Central Asia holds value to understanding human mobility in this pivotal
region. In this study, we analyse paleogenomic data generated from five humans from Kuygenzhar,
Kazakhstan. These individuals date to the early to mid-18th century, shortly after the Kazakh
Khanate was founded, a union of nomadic tribes of Mongol Golden Horde and Turkic origins.
Genomic analysis identifies that these individuals are admixed with varying proportions of East
Asian ancestry, indicating a recent admixture event from East Asia. The high amounts of DNA from
the anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria Tannerella forsythia, a periodontal pathogen, recovered from
their teeth suggest they may have suffered from periodontitis disease. Genomic analysis of this
bacterium identified recently evolved virulence and glycosylation genes including the presence of
antibiotic resistance genes predating the antibiotic era. This study provides an integrated analysis of individuals with a diet mostly based on meat (mainly horse and lamb), milk, and dairy products and
their oral microbiome.
