Co-dispersal of the blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum and Homo sapiens in the Neolithic Age.

ABSTRACT: The global spread of human infectious diseases is of considerable public health and biomedical interest. Little is known about the relationship between the distribution of ancient parasites and that of their human hosts. Schistosoma japonicum is one of the three major species of schistosome blood flukes causing the disease of schistosomiasis in humans. The parasite is prevalent in East and Southeast Asia, including the People's Republic of China, the Philippines and Indonesia. We studied the co-expansion of S. japonicum and its human definitive host. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on complete mitochondrial genome sequences showed that S. japonicum radiated from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the mountainous areas of China, Japan and Southeast Asia. In addition, the

SUBMITTER: Yin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685303 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature