Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of Treponema pallidum in the Americas
Journal
Nature
ISSN
0028-0836
Date Issued
2024-12-18
Author(s)
Rodrigo Barquera
T. Lesley Sitter
Casey L. Kirkpatrick
Darío A. Ramirez
Arthur Kocher
Maria A. Spyrou
Lourdes R. Couoh
Jorge A. Talavera-González
Tanya von Hunnius
Evelyn K. Guevara
W. Derek Hamilton
Patrick Roberts
Erin Scott
Mariana Fabra
Gabriela V. Da Peña
Aryel Pacheco
Mónica Rodriguez
Eugenio Aspillaga
Anthi Tiliakou
Elizabeth A. Nelson
Karen L. Giffin
Raffaela A. Bianco
Adam B. Rohrlach
María de los Ángeles García Martínez
Fabiola A. Ballesteros Solís
Antti Sajantila
Shelley R. Saunders
Rodrigo Nores
Alexander Herbig
Johannes Krause
Kirsten I. Bos
Type
journal-article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>Human treponemal infections are caused by a family of closely related <jats:italic>Treponema pallidum</jats:italic> that give rise to the diseases yaws, bejel, pinta and, most notably, syphilis<jats:sup>1</jats:sup>. Debates on a common origin for these pathogens and the history of syphilis itself have weighed evidence for the ‘Columbian hypothesis’<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>, which argues for an American origin, against that for the ‘pre-Columbian hypothesis’<jats:sup>3</jats:sup>, which argues for the presence of the disease in Eurasia in the Medieval period and possibly earlier. Although molecular data has provided a genetic basis for distinction of the typed subspecies<jats:sup>4</jats:sup>, deep evolution of the complex has remained unresolved owing to limitations in the conclusions that can be drawn from the sparse palaeogenomic data that are currently available. Here we explore this evolutionary history through analyses of five pre- and peri-contact ancient treponemal genomes from the Americas that represent ancient relatives of the <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>pallidum</jats:italic> (syphilis), <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>pertenue</jats:italic> (yaws) and <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>endemicum</jats:italic> (bejel) lineages. Our data indicate unexplored diversity and an emergence of <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> that post-dates human occupation in the Americas. Together, these results support an American origin for all <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> characterized at the genomic level, both modern and ancient.</jats:p>
<jats:p>Human treponemal infections are caused by a family of closely related <jats:italic>Treponema pallidum</jats:italic> that give rise to the diseases yaws, bejel, pinta and, most notably, syphilis<jats:sup>1</jats:sup>. Debates on a common origin for these pathogens and the history of syphilis itself have weighed evidence for the ‘Columbian hypothesis’<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>, which argues for an American origin, against that for the ‘pre-Columbian hypothesis’<jats:sup>3</jats:sup>, which argues for the presence of the disease in Eurasia in the Medieval period and possibly earlier. Although molecular data has provided a genetic basis for distinction of the typed subspecies<jats:sup>4</jats:sup>, deep evolution of the complex has remained unresolved owing to limitations in the conclusions that can be drawn from the sparse palaeogenomic data that are currently available. Here we explore this evolutionary history through analyses of five pre- and peri-contact ancient treponemal genomes from the Americas that represent ancient relatives of the <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>pallidum</jats:italic> (syphilis), <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>pertenue</jats:italic> (yaws) and <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>endemicum</jats:italic> (bejel) lineages. Our data indicate unexplored diversity and an emergence of <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> that post-dates human occupation in the Americas. Together, these results support an American origin for all <jats:italic>T. pallidum</jats:italic> characterized at the genomic level, both modern and ancient.</jats:p>