@article {330008,
	title = {Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria},
	journal = {Nature},
	year = {2024},
	month = {2024/06/12},
	abstract = {<p>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 species1. Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe1,2. To address these questions, we generated high-coverage ancient mitochondrial and nuclear\&nbsp;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 millennia3. 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.</p>
},
	isbn = {1476-4687},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07546-2},
	url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07546-2},
	author = {Michel, Megan and Skourtanioti, Eirini and Pierini, Federica and Guevara, Evelyn K. and M{\"o}tsch, Angela and Kocher, Arthur and Barquera, Rodrigo and Bianco, Raffaela A. and Carlhoff, Selina and Coppola Bove, Lorenza and Freilich, Suzanne and Giffin, Karen and Hermes, Taylor and Hi{\ss}, Alina and Knolle, Florian and Nelson, Elizabeth A. and Neumann, Gunnar U. and Papac, Luka and Penske, Sandra and Rohrlach, Adam B. and Salem, Nada and Semerau, Lena and Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa and Abadie, Isabelle and Aldenderfer, Mark and Beckett, Jessica F. and Brown, Matthew and Campus, Franco G. R. and Chenghwa, Tsang and Cruz Berrocal, Mar{\'\i}a and Dama{\v s}ek, Ladislav and Duffett Carlson, Kellie Sara and Durand, Rapha{\"e}l and Ern{\'e}e, Michal and F{\^a}nt{\u a}neanu, Cristinel and Frenzel, Hannah and Garc{\'\i}a Ati{\'e}nzar, Gabriel and Guill{\'e}n, Sonia and Hsieh, Ellen and Karwowski, Maciej and Kelvin, David and Kelvin, Nikki and Khokhlov, Alexander and Kinaston, Rebecca L. and Korolev, Arkadii and Krettek, Kim-Louise and K{\"u}{\ss}ner, Mario and Lai, Luca and Look, Cory and Majander, Kerttu and Mandl, Kirsten and Mazzarello, Vittorio and McCormick, Michael and de Miguel Ib{\'a}{\~n}ez, Patxuka and Murphy, Reg and N{\'e}meth, Rita E. and Nordqvist, Kerkko and Novotny, Friederike and Obenaus, Martin and Olmo-Enciso, Lauro and Onkamo, P{\"a}ivi and Orschiedt, J{\"o}rg and Patrushev, Valerii and Peltola, Sanni and Romero, Alejandro and Rubino, Salvatore and Sajantila, Antti and Salazar-Garc{\'\i}a, Domingo C. and Serrano, Elena and Shaydullaev, Shapulat and Sias, Emanuela and {\v S}laus, Mario and Stan{\v c}o, Ladislav and Swanston, Treena and Teschler-Nicola, Maria and Valentin, Fr{\'e}d{\'e}rique and Van de Vijver, Katrien and Varney, Tamara L. and Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Alfonso and Waters, Christopher K. and Weiss-Krejci, Estella and Winter, Eduard and Lamnidis, Thiseas C. and Pr{\"u}fer, Kay and N{\"a}gele, Kathrin and Spyrou, Maria and Schiffels, Stephan and Stockhammer, Philipp W. and Haak, Wolfgang and Posth, Cosimo and Warinner, Christina and Bos, Kirsten I. and Herbig, Alexander and Krause, Johannes}
}
