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
- Publication date:
- 2026-01-22
- OpenAlex record:
- View
- Image credit:
- Photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash
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