Ancient Bacterial Genomes Reveal a High Diversity of Treponema pallidum Strains in Early Modern Europe.
Curr Biol
; 30(19): 3788-3803.e10, 2020 10 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32795443
ABSTRACT
Syphilis is a globally re-emerging disease, which has marked European history with a devastating epidemic at the end of the 15th century. Together with non-venereal treponemal diseases, like bejel and yaws, which are found today in subtropical and tropical regions, it currently poses a substantial health threat worldwide. The origins and spread of treponemal diseases remain unresolved, including syphilis' potential introduction into Europe from the Americas. Here, we present the first genetic data from archaeological human remains reflecting a high diversity of Treponema pallidum in early modern Europe. Our study demonstrates that a variety of strains related to both venereal syphilis and yaws-causing T. pallidum subspecies were already present in Northern Europe in the early modern period. We also discovered a previously unknown T. pallidum lineage recovered as a sister group to yaws- and bejel-causing lineages. These findings imply a more complex pattern of geographical distribution and etiology of early treponemal epidemics than previously understood.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Treponema pallidum
/
Genoma Bacteriano
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ADN Antiguo
Límite:
Humans
País como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article