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John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
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Ancient oncogenesis, infection and human evolution.

Riaan F Rifkin1, Marnie Potgieter1, Jean-Baptiste Ramond1

  • 1Center for Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG) Department of Genetics University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa.

Evolutionary Applications
|November 21, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cancer is ancient, dating back nearly 2 million years, offering insights into early human diseases. Studying ancient pathogens in Africa reveals their role in human evolution and disease, crucial for understanding future health challenges.

Keywords:
AustralopithecusHomoPleistoceneancient DNAoncogenesispathogenssub‐Saharan Africa

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Area of Science:

  • Paleopathology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Malignant neoplastic lesions have been identified in early hominins dating back nearly 2 million years.
  • This discovery provides critical insights into the pathology and evolutionary history of diseases in ancestral humans.
  • Understanding ancient diseases is key to comprehending human evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of viral and bacterial pathogens in ancient oncogenesis.
  • To evaluate the impact of these pathogens on human evolutionary trajectories in Africa.
  • To highlight the significance of ancient pathogenic DNA in understanding human history and disease.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Early Pleistocene fossil evidence for neoplastic lesions.
  • Examination of ancient DNA from pathogenic sources.
  • Comparative genomic analysis of ancient and modern pathogens.

Main Results:

  • Early human cancers were influenced by pathogens, indicating a long history of host-pathogen interactions.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa's deep human occupation provides a unique window into ancient pathogen discovery.
  • Ancient pathogen genomes offer insights into human-pathogen coevolutionary dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Ancient pathogen research is crucial for understanding human evolution and mortality.
  • Africa is strategically positioned for discovering ancient drivers of human disease and evolution.
  • Knowledge of ancient human-pathogen interactions is essential for predicting the impact of future emerging diseases on human populations.