%0 Journal Article
%A Barquera, Rodrigo
%A Sitter, T. Lesley
%A Kirkpatrick, Casey L.
%A Ramirez, Darío A.
%A Kocher, Arthur
%A Spyrou, Maria A.
%A Couoh, Lourdes R.
%A Talavera-González, Jorge A.
%A Castro, Mario
%A von Hunnius, Tanya
%A Guevara, Evelyn K.
%A Hamilton, W. Derek
%A Roberts, Patrick
%A Scott, Erin
%A Fabra, Mariana
%A Da Peña, Gabriela V.
%A Pacheco, Aryel
%A Rodriguez, Mónica
%A Aspillaga, Eugenio
%A Tiliakou, Anthi
%A Nelson, Elizabeth A.
%A Giffin, Karen L.
%A Bianco, Raffaela A.
%A Rohrlach, Adam B.
%A de los Ángeles García Martínez, María
%A Ballesteros Solís, Fabiola A.
%A Sajantila, Antti
%A Saunders, Shelley R.
%A Nores, Rodrigo
%A Herbig, Alexander
%A Krause, Johannes *
%A Bos, Kirsten I. *
%+ Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society
%T Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of treponemal disease in the Americas (advance online) : 
%G eng
%U https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0010-5B77-3
%R 10.1038/s41586-024-08515-5
%7 2024-12-18
%D 2024
%8 18.12.2024
%* Review method: peer-reviewed
%X 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.
%K Archaeology, Bacterial genetics
%J Nature
%I Nature Publishing Group
%C London
%@ 0028-0836