Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of Treponema pallidum in the Americas

Human treponemal infections are caused by a family of closely related Treponema pallidum that give rise to the diseases yaws, bejel, pinta and, most notably, syphilis<sup>1</sup>. Debates on a common origin for these pathogens and the history of syphilis itself have weighed evidence for the 'Columbian hypothesis'<sup>2</sup>, which argues for an American origin, against that for the 'pre-Columbian hypothesis'<sup>3</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<sup>4</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 T. pallidum subsp. pallidum (syphilis), T. pallidum subsp. pertenue (yaws) and T. pallidum subsp. endemicum (bejel) lineages. Our data indicate unexplored diversity and an emergence of T. pallidum that post-dates human occupation in the Americas. Together, these results support an American origin for all T. pallidum characterized at the genomic level, both modern and ancient.

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Journal
Nature
Published
2024-12-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08515-5
Citations
12
Primary Topic
Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.92

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article

Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of Treponema pallidum in the Americas

Maria A. Spyrou, Eugenio Aspillaga, Mario Castro, Erin M. Scott et al.
12 citations
Nature
Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
3.92
article

Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of Treponema pallidum in the Americas

Maria A. Spyrou, Eugenio Aspillaga, Mario Castro, Erin M. Scott, Arthur Kocher, Elizabeth A. Nelson, Kirsten I. Bos, Derek Hamilton, F. Solís, Karen Giffin, Shelley R. Saunders, Anthi Tiliakou, Rodrigo Barquera, Alexander Herbig, Patrick Roberts, Mónica Rodríguez, Casey L. Kirkpatrick, Darío Alejandro Ramírez, Mariana Fabra, Aryel Pacheco, Gabriela Da Peña Aldao, Raffaela A. Bianco, María C. Martínez, Evelyn K. Guevara, Rodrigo Nores, Adam B. Rohrlach, Thomas Sitter, Antti Sajantila, Johannes Krause, Tanya von Hunnius, Lourdes R. Couoh, Jorge A. Talavera-González
article en
12 citations

Abstract

Human treponemal infections are caused by a family of closely related Treponema pallidum that give rise to the diseases yaws, bejel, pinta and, most notably, syphilis<sup>1</sup>. Debates on a common origin for these pathogens and the history of syphilis itself have weighed evidence for the 'Columbian hypothesis'<sup>2</sup>, which argues for an American origin, against that for the 'pre-Columbian hypothesis'<sup>3</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<sup>4</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 T. pallidum subsp. pallidum (syphilis), T. pallidum subsp. pertenue (yaws) and T. pallidum subsp. endemicum (bejel) lineages. Our data indicate unexplored diversity and an emergence of T. pallidum that post-dates human occupation in the Americas. Together, these results support an American origin for all T. pallidum characterized at the genomic level, both modern and ancient.

NatureVol. 640(8057)
Western University (CA), Universidad del Desarrollo (CL), University of Helsinki (FI), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (AR), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (AR), Southern Methodist University (US), Simon Fraser University (CA), Durham University (GB), Clínica Alemana (CL), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (FI), National Monuments Council (CL), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE), Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (GB), Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (DE), National Institute of Anthropology and History (MX), The University of Adelaide (AU), University of Chile (CL), University of Tübingen (DE), McMaster University (CA)
Helsingin Yliopisto, McMaster University, European Commission, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, International Council for Canadian Studies, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Suomen Kulttuurirahasto, Magnus Ehrnroothin Säätiö, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Koneen Säätiö, Universidad de Chile, Suomen Tiedeseura, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, FP7 International Cooperation
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
3.92
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