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5500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome found in Colombia

Medicine research
Photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash · Unsplash License
Research area:Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyForensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology StudiesForensic and Genetic Research

What the study found

The study reports a 5500-year-old Treponema genome, TE1-3, from hunter-gatherer contexts at Tequendama I in Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia. The analyses place it as a sister lineage to all known Treponema pallidum subspecies, meaning it is closely related but outside the group that includes the subspecies causing syphilis, yaws, and bejel.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that this finding positions the pathogen in the Americas millennia before European contact and before diversification of the subspecies causing syphilis, yaws, and bejel. They also say it broadens the known diversity of T. pallidum and extends the genomic record of treponemal pathogens by millennia, providing molecular support for a deep history of T. pallidum in the Americas.

What the researchers tested

The researchers analyzed a 5500-year-old Treponema genome recovered from Middle Holocene hunter-gatherer contexts at the rock shelter Tequendama I in Colombia. They compared its genome placement with known Treponema pallidum subspecies.

What worked and what didn't

The analyses successfully recovered a genome designated TE1-3 and placed it as a sister lineage to all known T. pallidum subspecies. The abstract does not describe any failed analyses or alternative placements.

What to keep in mind

The summary provided here is limited to the abstract, so detailed methods, sample preservation details, and limitations are not described. The abstract reports a single genome from one archaeological context, so its scope is limited to that find.

Key points

  • A 5500-year-old Treponema genome, TE1-3, was reported from Tequendama I in Colombia.
  • The genome was placed as a sister lineage to all known Treponema pallidum subspecies.
  • The authors say the pathogen was present in the Americas before European contact and before diversification of syphilis-, yaws-, and bejel-causing subspecies.
  • The study says this finding broadens the known diversity and genomic record of T. pallidum.

Disclosure

Research title:
5500-year-old Treponema pallidum genome found in Colombia
Authors:
Davide Bozzi, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Miguel Burbano Delgado, Jane E. Buikstra, Carlos Eduardo G Amorim, Kalina Kassadjikova, Melissa Pratt Estrada, Gilbert Greub, Nicolás Rascovan, David Šmajs, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Anna‐Sapfo Malaspinas, Elizabeth A. Nelson
Institutions:
SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Lausanne, University of California, Santa Cruz, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Fudan University, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Arizona State University, California State University, Northridge, Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Masaryk University, Southern Methodist University
Publication date:
2026-01-22
DOI:
10.1126/science.adw3020
OpenAlex record:
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Image credit:
Photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash · Unsplash License
AI provenance: This post was generated by OpenAI. The original authors did not write or review this post.

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