The study, published in the journal Nature, provides new insights into the history of syphilis-like diseases and may help elucidate the complex evolutionary history of these pathogens. The researchers also suggest that recombination, in which bacteria exchange genetic material, may play a role in the differentiation of different subspecies of Treponema.
Lead author of the study, Professor Verena Schünemann from the University of Basel, said: “Our results show that endemic syphilis was already present in humid regions of Brazil around 2000 years ago, suggesting that people caught the disease much earlier than previously thought. This suggests that syphilis-like diseases were probably “It shows that it was widespread in the Americas several centuries before the arrival of Columbus.”
The researchers believe that further analysis of ancient DNA samples could help identify specific subspecies of the treponemal bacteria that caused these diseases in the past and determine how they evolved over time.
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Source: Ferra
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