Lessons from ancient pathogens

• 成果类型: Editorial Material
• 署名作者: Zuckerman, Molly K.; Hofman, Courtney A.
• 署名单位: Mississippi State University; Mississippi State University; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; University of Oklahoma System; University of Oklahoma - Norman; University of Oklahoma System; University of Oklahoma - Norman
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-13233
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adk0584
• 发表日期: 2024-08-02
• 页码: 490-492
• 关键词: genomes

摘要

The skeletons of deceased humans as well as their substrates, such as preserved dental plaque (dental calculus), and biomolecules, such as DNA, represent an archive of many otherwise invisible aspects of the past. In particular, molecular studies of skeletal individuals capture interactions between human hosts, environments, animals, plants, and pathogens (HEAPP) ( 1 , 2 ). When the tools of paleogenomics, such as ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses, are combined with broad collaborations and perspectives from various groups and disciplines and are funneled into translational science, such research can expand beyond enriching knowledge of the past and have relevance to contemporary societies. For example, when staying within ethical parameters, such research can directly inform the understanding of present-day and potentially future disease risks, including pandemic preparedness and public health responses, and even generate new therapies ( 3 - 5 ).