A large-scale genomic study published in Science Advances has identified the earliest evidence of genetic resistance to zoonotic diseases in Europe. By analyzing 7,000-year-old skeletal remains from the Sub-Carpathian region, geneticists found specific mutations in the TLR locus that provided protection against tuberculosis-like pathogens common in early domesticated cattle. This evolutionary shift suggests that Neolithic farmers were already undergoing significant biological changes to survive the pathogens of an agricultural lifestyle.
The study highlights a population bottleneck where individuals lacking these resistance markers did not survive the transition to high-density pastoral living. This paleogenomic insight provides a new understanding of the biological costs of the Neolithic Revolution and how ancient human genomes were shaped by their close proximity to livestock long before the advent of modern medicine.