德国马克斯·普朗克进化人类学研究所Kirsten I. Bos和Johannes Krause课题组，利用古代基因组揭示出美洲密螺旋体疾病的历史。2024年12月18日，国际学术期刊《自然》发表了这一成果。

据悉，人类密螺旋感染是由苍白密螺旋体家族近亲引起的，它们导致了雅司病、贝杰尔病、平达病以及为人所知的梅毒。关于这些病原体的共同起源和梅毒历史本身的争论，人们权衡了 “哥伦布假说 ” 和 “前哥伦布假说 ” ，“哥伦布假说 ”认为梅毒起源于美洲，而 “前哥伦布假说 ”则认为梅毒早在中世纪甚至更早时期就出现在欧亚大陆。虽然分子特征为区分亚种分型提供了遗传证据 ，但由于从现有稀少的古基因组数据中得出的结论有限，该复合体的深层进化仍未得到解决

研究人员通过分析美洲五个接触前和接触前后的，古代密螺旋体属基因组来探索其进化史，这些基因组代表了苍白螺旋体（梅毒）、苍白螺旋体pertenue（雅司病），和苍白螺旋体地方病（贝杰尔病）系的古代近亲。研究数据表明，T. pallidum的多样性尚未被发掘，其出现的时间也早于人类占领美洲的时间。这些结果共同支持了，具有基因组水平特征的所有苍白球嗜血杆菌起源于美洲，包括现代和古代苍白球嗜血杆菌。

附：英文原文

Title: Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of treponemal disease in the Americas

Author: Barquera, Rodrigo, Sitter, T. Lesley, Kirkpatrick, Casey L., Ramirez, Daro A., Kocher, Arthur, Spyrou, Maria A., Couoh, Lourdes R., Talavera-Gonzlez, Jorge A., Castro, Mario, von Hunnius, Tanya, Guevara, Evelyn K., Hamilton, W. Derek, Roberts, Patrick, Scott, Erin, Fabra, Mariana, Da Pea, Gabriela V., Pacheco, Aryel, Rodriguez, Mnica, Aspillaga, Eugenio, Tiliakou, Anthi, Nelson, Elizabeth A., Giffin, Karen L., Bianco, Raffaela A., Rohrlach, Adam B., de los ngeles Garca Martnez, Mara, Ballesteros Sols, Fabiola A., Sajantila, Antti, Saunders, Shelley R., Nores, Rodrigo, Herbig, Alexander, Krause, Johannes, Bos, Kirsten I.

Issue&Volume: 2024-12-18

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 famously, syphilis1. Debates on both a common origin for these pathogens and the history of syphilis itself has weighed evidence for the “Columbian hypothesis”2, which argues for an American origin, against that for the “pre-Columbian hypothesis”3, which argues for presence of the disease in Eurasia in the Medieval period and possibly earlier. While molecular data has provided a genetic basis for distinction of the typed subspecies4, deep evolution of the complex has remained unresolved due to limitations in the conclusions that can be drawn from the sparse paleogenomic data 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 pallidum (syphilis), T. pallidum pertenue (yaws) and T. pallidum 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.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08515-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08515-5