Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 631; no. 8019; pp. 125 - 133
• Main Authors: Michel, Megan, Skourtanioti, Eirini, Pierini, Federica, Guevara, Evelyn K., Mötsch, Angela, Kocher, Arthur, Barquera, Rodrigo, Bianco, Raffaela A., Carlhoff, Selina, Coppola Bove, Lorenza, Freilich, Suzanne, Giffin, Karen, Hermes, Taylor, Hiß, Alina, Knolle, Florian, Nelson, Elizabeth A., Neumann, Gunnar U., Papac, Luka, Penske, Sandra, Rohrlach, Adam B., Salem, Nada, Semerau, Lena, Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa, Abadie, Isabelle, Aldenderfer, Mark, Beckett, Jessica F., Brown, Matthew, Campus, Franco G. R., Chenghwa, Tsang, Cruz Berrocal, María, Damašek, Ladislav, Duffett Carlson, Kellie Sara, Durand, Raphaël, Ernée, Michal, Fântăneanu, Cristinel, Frenzel, Hannah, García Atiénzar, Gabriel, Guillén, Sonia, Hsieh, Ellen, Karwowski, Maciej, Kelvin, David, Kelvin, Nikki, Khokhlov, Alexander, Kinaston, Rebecca L., Korolev, Arkadii, Krettek, Kim-Louise, Küßner, Mario, Lai, Luca, Look, Cory, Majander, Kerttu, Mandl, Kirsten, Mazzarello, Vittorio, McCormick, Michael, de Miguel Ibáñez, Patxuka, Murphy, Reg, Németh, Rita E., Nordqvist, Kerkko, Novotny, Friederike, Obenaus, Martin, Olmo-Enciso, Lauro, Onkamo, Päivi, Orschiedt, Jörg, Patrushev, Valerii, Peltola, Sanni, Romero, Alejandro, Rubino, Salvatore, Sajantila, Antti, Salazar-García, Domingo C., Serrano, Elena, Shaydullaev, Shapulat, Sias, Emanuela, Šlaus, Mario, Stančo, Ladislav, Swanston, Treena, Teschler-Nicola, Maria, Valentin, Frederique, Van de Vijver, Katrien, Varney, Tamara L., Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Alfonso, Waters, Christopher K., Weiss-Krejci, Estella, Winter, Eduard, Lamnidis, Thiseas C., Prüfer, Kay, Nägele, Kathrin, Spyrou, Maria, Schiffels, Stephan, Stockhammer, Philipp W., Haak, Wolfgang, Posth, Cosimo, Warinner, Christina, Bos, Kirsten I., Herbig, Alexander, Krause, Johannes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.07.2024; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 45/22; 45/23; 631/181/19/2471; 631/181/457; 631/181/757; 631/208/212; 631/326/421; Blood parasites; Congenital diseases; Epidemiology; Genomes; Genomic analysis; Hematology; High altitude; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hypotheses; Infections; Life Sciences; Malaria; Mobility; multidisciplinary; Parasite resistance; Parasites; Pathogens; Plasmodium; Protozoa; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Vector-borne diseases; Papua New Guinea
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07546-2

Malaria-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 1 . Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe 1 , 2 . 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 3 . 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. Genomic analysis of Plasmodium DNA from 36 ancient individuals provides insight into the global distribution and spread of malaria-causing species during around 5,500 years of human history.