Overview
- Researchers reconstructed a complete Treponema pallidum genome from a 5,500-year-old human found at the Tequendama I rock shelter in Colombia.
- Phylogenetic analyses place the strain on a previously unknown sister branch that split from known treponemal lineages roughly 13,700 years ago.
- The individual’s bone showed no visible disease lesions, and the pathogen was detected by chance through very deep shotgun sequencing of about 1.5 billion DNA fragments.
- The discovery pushes the genomic record of this pathogen back by more than 3,000 years and indicates greater ancient diversity than seen in today’s three subspecies.
- Authors emphasize that the single ancient genome cannot reveal clinical presentation or transmission and does not resolve competing origin hypotheses, urging broader sampling and non-stigmatizing interpretation.