TY - JOUR
T1 - A 500-year tale of co-evolution, adaptation, and virulence
T2 - Helicobacter pylori in the Americas
AU - Muñoz-Ramirez, Zilia Y.
AU - Pascoe, Ben
AU - Mendez-Tenorio, Alfonso
AU - Mourkas, Evangelos
AU - Sandoval-Motta, Santiago
AU - Perez-Perez, Guillermo
AU - Morgan, Douglas R.
AU - Dominguez, Ricardo Leonel
AU - Ortiz-Princz, Diana
AU - Cavazza, Maria Eugenia
AU - Rocha, Gifone
AU - Queiroz, Dulcienne M.M.
AU - Catalano, Mariana
AU - Palma, Gerardo Zerbetto De
AU - Goldman, Cinthia G.
AU - Venegas, Alejandro
AU - Alarcon, Teresa
AU - Oleastro, Monica
AU - Vale, Filipa F.
AU - Goodman, Karen J.
AU - Torres, Roberto C.
AU - Berthenet, Elvire
AU - Hitchings, Matthew D.
AU - Blaser, Martin J.
AU - Sheppard, Samuel K.
AU - Thorell, Kaisa
AU - Torres, Javier
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Helicobacter pylori is a common component of the human stomach microbiota, possibly dating back to the speciation of Homo sapiens. A history of pathogen evolution in allopatry has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations, associated with different human populations, and more recent admixture among H. pylori subpopulations can provide information about human migrations. However, little is known about the degree to which some H. pylori genes are conserved in the face of admixture, potentially indicating host adaptation, or how virulence genes spread among different populations. We analyzed H. pylori genomes from 14 countries in the Americas, strains from the Iberian Peninsula, and public genomes from Europe, Africa, and Asia, to investigate how admixture varies across different regions and gene families. Whole-genome analyses of 723 H. pylori strains from around the world showed evidence of frequent admixture in the American strains with a complex mosaic of contributions from H. pylori populations originating in the Americas as well as other continents. Despite the complex admixture, distinctive genomic fingerprints were identified for each region, revealing novel American H. pylori subpopulations. A pan-genome Fst analysis showed that variation in virulence genes had the strongest fixation in America, compared with non-American populations, and that much of the variation constituted non-synonymous substitutions in functional domains. Network analyses suggest that these virulence genes have followed unique evolutionary paths in the American populations, spreading into different genetic backgrounds, potentially contributing to the high risk of gastric cancer in the region.
AB - Helicobacter pylori is a common component of the human stomach microbiota, possibly dating back to the speciation of Homo sapiens. A history of pathogen evolution in allopatry has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations, associated with different human populations, and more recent admixture among H. pylori subpopulations can provide information about human migrations. However, little is known about the degree to which some H. pylori genes are conserved in the face of admixture, potentially indicating host adaptation, or how virulence genes spread among different populations. We analyzed H. pylori genomes from 14 countries in the Americas, strains from the Iberian Peninsula, and public genomes from Europe, Africa, and Asia, to investigate how admixture varies across different regions and gene families. Whole-genome analyses of 723 H. pylori strains from around the world showed evidence of frequent admixture in the American strains with a complex mosaic of contributions from H. pylori populations originating in the Americas as well as other continents. Despite the complex admixture, distinctive genomic fingerprints were identified for each region, revealing novel American H. pylori subpopulations. A pan-genome Fst analysis showed that variation in virulence genes had the strongest fixation in America, compared with non-American populations, and that much of the variation constituted non-synonymous substitutions in functional domains. Network analyses suggest that these virulence genes have followed unique evolutionary paths in the American populations, spreading into different genetic backgrounds, potentially contributing to the high risk of gastric cancer in the region.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090195274&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41396-020-00758-0
DO - 10.1038/s41396-020-00758-0
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 32879462
AN - SCOPUS:85090195274
SN - 1751-7362
VL - 15
SP - 78
EP - 92
JO - ISME Journal
JF - ISME Journal
IS - 1
ER -