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Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria

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dc.contributor.authorMichel, Megan
dc.contributor.authorSkourtanioti, Eirini
dc.contributor.authorPierini, Federica
dc.contributor.authorGuevara, Evelyn K.
dc.contributor.authorMoetsch, Angela
dc.contributor.authorKocher, Arthur
dc.contributor.authorBarquera, Rodrigo
dc.contributor.authorBianco, Raffaela A.
dc.contributor.authorCarlhoff, Selina
dc.contributor.authorBove, Lorenza Coppola
dc.contributor.authorFreilich, Suzanne
dc.contributor.authorGiffin, Karen
dc.contributor.authorHermes, Taylor
dc.contributor.authorHiß, Alina
dc.contributor.authorKnolle, Florian
dc.contributor.authorNelson, Elizabeth A.
dc.contributor.authorNeumann, Gunnar U.
dc.contributor.authorPapac, Luka
dc.contributor.authorPenske, Sandra
dc.contributor.authorRohrlach, Adam B.
dc.contributor.authorSalem, Nada
dc.contributor.authorSemerau, Lena
dc.contributor.authorVillalba-Mouco, Vanessa
dc.contributor.authorAbadie, Isabelle
dc.contributor.authorAldenderfer, Mark
dc.contributor.authorBeckett, Jessica F.
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Matthew
dc.contributor.authorCampus, Franco G. R.
dc.contributor.authorChenghwa, Tsang
dc.contributor.authorCruz Berrocal, María
dc.contributor.authorDamašek, Ladislav
dc.contributor.authorCarlson, Kellie Sara Duffett
dc.contributor.authorDurand, Raphaël
dc.contributor.authorErnée, Michal
dc.contributor.authorFântăneanu, Cristinel
dc.contributor.authorFrenzel, Hannah
dc.contributor.authorGarcía Atiénzar, Gabriel
dc.contributor.authorGuillén, Sonia
dc.contributor.authorHsieh, Ellen
dc.contributor.authorKarwowski, Maciej
dc.contributor.authorKelvin, David
dc.contributor.authorKelvin, Nikki
dc.contributor.authorKhokhlov, Alexander
dc.contributor.authorKinaston, Rebecca L.
dc.contributor.authorKorolev, Arkadii
dc.contributor.authorKrettek, Kim-Louise
dc.contributor.authorKüßner, Mario
dc.contributor.authorLai, Luca
dc.contributor.authorLook, Cory
dc.contributor.authorMajander, Kerttu
dc.contributor.authorMandl, Kirsten
dc.contributor.authorMazzarello, Vittorio
dc.contributor.authorMcCormick, Michael
dc.contributor.authorde Miguel Ibáñez, Patxuka
dc.contributor.authorMurphy, Reg
dc.contributor.authorNémeth, Rita E.
dc.contributor.authorNordqvist, Kerkko
dc.contributor.authorNovotny, Friederike
dc.contributor.authorObenaus, Martin
dc.contributor.authorOlmo-Enciso, Lauro
dc.contributor.authorOnkamo, Päivi
dc.contributor.authorOrschiedt, Jörg
dc.contributor.authorPatrushev, Valerii
dc.contributor.authorPeltola, Sanni
dc.contributor.authorRomero, Alejandro
dc.contributor.authorRubino, Salvatore
dc.contributor.authorSajantila, Antti
dc.contributor.authorSalazar-García, Domingo C.
dc.contributor.authorSerrano, Elena
dc.contributor.authorShaydullaev, Shapulat
dc.contributor.authorSias, Emanuela
dc.contributor.authorŠlaus, Mario
dc.contributor.authorStančo, Ladislav
dc.contributor.authorSwanston, Treena
dc.contributor.authorTeschler-Nicola, Maria
dc.contributor.authorValentin, Frederique
dc.contributor.authorVan de Vijver, Katrien
dc.contributor.authorVarney, Tamara L.
dc.contributor.authorVigil-Escalera Guirado, Alfonso
dc.contributor.authorWaters, Christopher K.
dc.contributor.authorWeiss-Krejci, Estella
dc.contributor.authorWinter, Eduard
dc.contributor.authorLamnidis, Thiseas C.
dc.contributor.authorPrüfer, Kay
dc.contributor.authorNägele, Kathrin
dc.contributor.authorSpyrou, Maria
dc.contributor.authorSchiffels, Stephan
dc.contributor.authorStockhammer, Philipp W.
dc.contributor.authorHaak, Wolfgang
dc.contributor.authorPosth, Cosimo
dc.contributor.authorWarinner, Christina
dc.contributor.authorBos, Kirsten I.
dc.contributor.authorHerbig, Alexander
dc.contributor.authorKrause, Johannes
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-14T22:01:51Z
dc.date.available2025-03-14T22:01:51Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractMalaria-causing protozoa of the genus Plasmodium have exerted one of the strongest selective pressures on the human genome, and resistance alleles provide biomolecular footprints that outline the historical reach of these species. Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe. To address these questions, we generated high-coverage ancient mitochondrial and nuclear genome-wide data from P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae from 16 countries spanning around 5,500 years of human history. We identified P. vivax and P. falciparum across geographically disparate regions of Eurasia from as early as the fourth and first millennia bce, respectively; for P. vivax, this evidence pre-dates textual references by several millennia. Genomic analysis supports distinct disease histories for P. falciparum and P. vivax in the Americas: similarities between now-eliminated European and peri-contact South American strains indicate that European colonizers were the source of American P. vivax, whereas the trans-Atlantic slave trade probably introduced P. falciparum into the Americas. Our data underscore the role of cross-cultural contacts in the dissemination of malaria, laying the biomolecular foundation for future palaeo-epidemiological research into the impact of Plasmodium parasites on human history. Finally, our unexpected discovery of P. falciparum in the high-altitude Himalayas provides a rare case study in which individual mobility can be inferred from infection status, adding to our knowledge of cross-cultural connectivity in the region nearly three millennia ago.
dc.identifier.citationMichel, M., Skourtanioti, E., Pierini, F., Guevara, E. K., Moetsch, A., Kocher, A., Barquera, R., Bianco, R. A., Carlhoff, S., Coppola Bove, L., Freilich, S., Giffin, K., Hermes, T., Hiss, A., Knolle, F., Nelson, E. A., Neumann, G. U., Papac, L., Penske, S., … Krause, J. (2024). Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria. Nature, 631, 125-133. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07546-2
dc.identifier.doittps://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07546-2
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/3835
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAttribution (CC BY)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectPlasmodium
dc.subjecthuman malaria
dc.subjectgenomes
dc.titleAncient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malariaen
dc.typeArticle

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