Ancient viral genomes reveal introduction of human pathogenic viruses into Mexico during the transatlantic slave trade.

ABSTRACT: After the European colonization of the Americas, there was a dramatic population collapse of the Indigenous inhabitants caused in part by the introduction of new pathogens. Although there is much speculation on the etiology of the Colonial epidemics, direct evidence for the presence of specific viruses during the Colonial era is lacking. To uncover the diversity of viral pathogens during this period, we designed an enrichment assay targeting ancient DNA (aDNA) from viruses of clinical importance and applied it to DNA extracts from individuals found in a Colonial hospital and a Colonial chapel (16th-18th century) where records suggest that victims of epidemics were buried during important outbreaks in Mexico City. This allowed us to reconstruct three ancient human parvovirus B19 genomes and

SUBMITTER: Guzman-Solis AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8423449 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature