alleryStart learning →DNA recovered from an Athenian mass grave pointed to which agent for the Plague of Athens?
AYersinia pestis, the plague bacterium
BBorrelia, a spirochete from ticks
CSalmonella enterica serovar Typhi
DClostridium difficile from the gut
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi
1. The Plague of Athens in 430 B.C. killed a quarter of the Athenian troops in the Peloponnesian War.
2. Researchers used DNA from teeth recovered from a mass grave.
3. They identified nucleotide sequences from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, which causes typhoid fever.
4. Typhoid spreads through feces and is common in overcrowded areas, which fits crowded wartime Athens.
5. Yersinia pestis caused the later bubonic plagues, not this outbreak.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 22 "Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea", section 22.4 Bacterial Diseases in Humans_
Keep practising Bacteriology
Browse all Bacteriology questions for NCK Licensing Exam (Nursing), or explore more Microbiology topics.
Related questions
Catch the prokaryotic parts onlySplit helpful microbes from harmfulName the microbe behind each clueBuild a biofilm stage by stageSort the two Gram stain groupsWhich structure lets some soil bacteria survive heat and drought until conditions improve?Commensal bacteria on the skin and in the gut benefit their human host in which way?How do bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa help clear mercury pollution?