通过巴西的哥伦布前基因组重新定义三角膜历史
Kerttu Majander1,2,3, Marta Pla-Díaz4,5, Louis du Plessis6,7
1Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. kerttu.majander@gmail.com.
Nature
|January 24, 2024
概括
巴西古老的三角体基因组揭示了欧洲人接触之前的史前感染. 这挑战了以前关于三属亚种及其传播的想法,强调了它们的适应性.
科学领域:
- 古遗传学
- 进化生物学
- 传染性疾病
背景情况:
- 梅毒等三角体疾病的起源仍有争议,一些理论认为是从美洲引入欧洲的.
- 虽然古代DNA在欧洲和墨西哥发现了三角膜感染,但没有来自美洲或旧世界的哥伦布前基因组证据.
研究的目的:
- 研究三角膜病原体的古老起源和演变.
- 重建南美洲的史前三角体基因组以了解它们的早期历史.
主要方法:
- 在巴西发现的2000年前人类遗骸中提取的三角膜DNA的全基因组测序.
- 生物遗传学分析以确定古代三角动物的进化关系.
- 分子时钟约定用于估计现代Treponema pallidum亚种的分离时间.
主要成果:
- 重建了四个古老的三角膜基因组,与致病原体Treponema pallidum特有密切相关.
- 这些发现与贝杰尔的现代干旱地理位置相矛盾,表明了更大的适应潜力,并挑战了先前的古病理学解释.
- 分子时钟的估计将现代T. pallidum亚种的分歧置于哥伦布前的时代.
结论:
- 考古遗传学提供了关键的洞察力, 进化和出现的病原体, 如三角虫.
- 这项研究表明,在与欧洲人接触之前,三角膜感染已存在于美洲,因此需要对其起源和传播提出新的假设.
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