Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden
Abstract Background Processes shaping the formation of the present-day population structure in highly urbanized Northern Europe are still poorly understood. Gaps remain in our understanding of when and how currently observable regional differences emerged and what impact city growth, migration, and...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Owyn Beneker Ludovica Molinaro Meriam Guellil Stefania Sasso Helja Kabral Biancamaria Bonucci Noah Gaens Eugenia D’Atanasio Massimo Mezzavilla Hélios Delbrassine Linde Braet Bart Lambert Pieterjan Deckers Simone Andrea Biagini Ruoyun Hui Sara Becelaere Jan Geypen Maxim Hoebreckx Birgit Berk Petra Driesen April Pijpelink Philip van Damme Sofie Vanhoutte Natasja De Winter Lehti Saag Luca Pagani Kristiina Tambets Christiana L. Scheib Maarten H. D. Larmuseau Toomas Kivisild |
| author_facet | Owyn Beneker Ludovica Molinaro Meriam Guellil Stefania Sasso Helja Kabral Biancamaria Bonucci Noah Gaens Eugenia D’Atanasio Massimo Mezzavilla Hélios Delbrassine Linde Braet Bart Lambert Pieterjan Deckers Simone Andrea Biagini Ruoyun Hui Sara Becelaere Jan Geypen Maxim Hoebreckx Birgit Berk Petra Driesen April Pijpelink Philip van Damme Sofie Vanhoutte Natasja De Winter Lehti Saag Luca Pagani Kristiina Tambets Christiana L. Scheib Maarten H. D. Larmuseau Toomas Kivisild |
| author_sort | Owyn Beneker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Processes shaping the formation of the present-day population structure in highly urbanized Northern Europe are still poorly understood. Gaps remain in our understanding of when and how currently observable regional differences emerged and what impact city growth, migration, and disease pandemics during and after the Middle Ages had on these processes. Results We perform low-coverage sequencing of the genomes of 338 individuals spanning the eighth to the eighteenth centuries in the city of Sint-Truiden in Flanders, in the northern part of Belgium. The early/high medieval Sint-Truiden population was more heterogeneous, having received migrants from Scotland or Ireland, and displayed less genetic relatedness than observed today between individuals in present-day Flanders. We find differences in gene variants associated with high vitamin D blood levels between individuals with Gaulish or Germanic ancestry. Although we find evidence of a Yersinia pestis infection in 5 of the 58 late medieval burials, we were unable to detect a major population-scale impact of the second plague pandemic on genetic diversity or on the elevated differentiation of immunity genes. Conclusions This study reveals that the genetic homogenization process in a medieval city population in the Low Countries was protracted for centuries. Over time, the Sint-Truiden population became more similar to the current population of the surrounding Limburg province, likely as a result of reduced long-distance migration after the high medieval period, and the continuous process of local admixture of Germanic and Gaulish ancestries which formed the genetic cline observable today in the Low Countries. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5454428fa6c94ca294886f0016586ece |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1474-760X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| series | Genome Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-5454428fa6c94ca294886f0016586ece2025-08-20T01:53:23ZengBMCGenome Biology1474-760X2025-05-0126114210.1186/s13059-025-03580-zUrbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-TruidenOwyn Beneker0Ludovica Molinaro1Meriam Guellil2Stefania Sasso3Helja Kabral4Biancamaria Bonucci5Noah Gaens6Eugenia D’Atanasio7Massimo Mezzavilla8Hélios Delbrassine9Linde Braet10Bart Lambert11Pieterjan Deckers12Simone Andrea Biagini13Ruoyun Hui14Sara Becelaere15Jan Geypen16Maxim Hoebreckx17Birgit Berk18Petra Driesen19April Pijpelink20Philip van Damme21Sofie Vanhoutte22Natasja De Winter23Lehti Saag24Luca Pagani25Kristiina Tambets26Christiana L. Scheib27Maarten H. D. Larmuseau28Toomas Kivisild29Department of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenDepartment of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenDepartment for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of ViennaInstitute of Genomics, University of TartuInstitute of Genomics, University of TartuInstitute of Genomics, University of TartuDepartment of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenInstitute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, CNRDepartment of Biology, University of PadovaDepartment of Biology, University of PadovaDepartment of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenSHOC Research Group, Vrije Universiteit BrusselArchaeology, KU LeuvenDepartment of Archaeology and Museology, Masaryk UniversityAlan Turing InstituteDepartment of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenHistories vzwAron bvBirgit Berk Fysische AnthropologieAron bvCrematie en Inhumatie Analyse (CRINA) Fysische AntropologieDepartment of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven and Department of Neuroscience, KU LeuvenFlanders Heritage AgencyAron bvInstitute of Genomics, University of TartuInstitute of Genomics, University of TartuInstitute of Genomics, University of TartuSt John’s College, University of CambridgeDepartment of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenDepartment of Human Genetics, KU LeuvenAbstract Background Processes shaping the formation of the present-day population structure in highly urbanized Northern Europe are still poorly understood. Gaps remain in our understanding of when and how currently observable regional differences emerged and what impact city growth, migration, and disease pandemics during and after the Middle Ages had on these processes. Results We perform low-coverage sequencing of the genomes of 338 individuals spanning the eighth to the eighteenth centuries in the city of Sint-Truiden in Flanders, in the northern part of Belgium. The early/high medieval Sint-Truiden population was more heterogeneous, having received migrants from Scotland or Ireland, and displayed less genetic relatedness than observed today between individuals in present-day Flanders. We find differences in gene variants associated with high vitamin D blood levels between individuals with Gaulish or Germanic ancestry. Although we find evidence of a Yersinia pestis infection in 5 of the 58 late medieval burials, we were unable to detect a major population-scale impact of the second plague pandemic on genetic diversity or on the elevated differentiation of immunity genes. Conclusions This study reveals that the genetic homogenization process in a medieval city population in the Low Countries was protracted for centuries. Over time, the Sint-Truiden population became more similar to the current population of the surrounding Limburg province, likely as a result of reduced long-distance migration after the high medieval period, and the continuous process of local admixture of Germanic and Gaulish ancestries which formed the genetic cline observable today in the Low Countries.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03580-zUrbanizationPalaeo-genomicsLow countriesMedievalMigrationPlague |
| spellingShingle | Owyn Beneker Ludovica Molinaro Meriam Guellil Stefania Sasso Helja Kabral Biancamaria Bonucci Noah Gaens Eugenia D’Atanasio Massimo Mezzavilla Hélios Delbrassine Linde Braet Bart Lambert Pieterjan Deckers Simone Andrea Biagini Ruoyun Hui Sara Becelaere Jan Geypen Maxim Hoebreckx Birgit Berk Petra Driesen April Pijpelink Philip van Damme Sofie Vanhoutte Natasja De Winter Lehti Saag Luca Pagani Kristiina Tambets Christiana L. Scheib Maarten H. D. Larmuseau Toomas Kivisild Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden Genome Biology Urbanization Palaeo-genomics Low countries Medieval Migration Plague |
| title | Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden |
| title_full | Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden |
| title_fullStr | Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden |
| title_short | Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden |
| title_sort | urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval low countries revealed through a ten century paleogenomic study of the city of sint truiden |
| topic | Urbanization Palaeo-genomics Low countries Medieval Migration Plague |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03580-z |
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