Hakob Simonyan

The paper identifies recent positive selection of MEFV mutations in Armenians linked to the first Yersinia pestis plague pandemic, suggesting resistance to plague as the selective agent.

Twenty-three new Yersinia pestis genomes from Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Iceland and Armenia extend the Second Plague Pandemic phylogeny, with the first Icelandic plague genome and eastward-spreading pestis secunda strains.

This study combines palaeoproteomic and genetic analyses to show that dairy consumption in Armenia dates back to the late fourth millennium BCE, but lactase persistence variants remained rare, suggesting cultural adaptations to fermented dairy.