Ancient Viruses: Neanderthal Bones Reveal Secrets of Human Pathogens
Ancient Viruses: Neanderthal Bones Reveal Secrets of Human Pathogens
Genetic Analysis Unearths Prehistoric Viruses Related to Modern Human Pathogens
The study1 of ancient DNA has led to a groundbreaking discovery: the remnants of three common human viruses within the bones of Neanderthals who roamed the Earth over 50,000 years ago. This finding opens a window into the past, shedding light on the viral landscape of our ancient relatives and raising intriguing questions about the potential recreation of these ancient pathogens.
Unearthing Ancient Viruses
Researchers led by Marcelo Briones at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, embarked on a genetic analysis of Neanderthal skeletons from Chagyrskaya cave in Russia. Within these ancient bones, they uncovered genetic sequences belonging to three viruses familiar to modern humans:
Adenovirus
Herpesvirus
Papillomavirus
Briones speculates on the possibility of synthesizing these ancient viruses for laboratory study, akin to a "Jurassic Park-like" scenario,
"These Jurassic Park-like viruses could then be studied for their reproductive and pathogenic traits and compared to present-day counterparts."
An Ancient Viral Archive
The identification of these viruses within Neanderthal remains surpasses previous discoveries, including a 31,000-year-old virus found in Homo sapiens teeth from northeast Siberia. Briones and his team meticulously compared the genetic sequences with modern viral strains, ruling out contamination from modern sources,
"Taken together, our data indicate that these viruses might represent viruses that really infected Neanderthals."
While the findings offer compelling evidence, Briones acknowledges the need for further confirmation of the presence of complete viral genomes within Neanderthal remains.
Insights and Challenges
Sally Wasef from Queensland University of Technology underscores the significance of this study in uncovering the potential diseases that afflicted our ancient ancestors. However, she cautions that the study of ancient viruses remains in its infancy and presents unique challenges compared to the analysis of human DNA,
"The current tools used to authenticate ancient DNA results from humans might not apply to viruses, which have shorter DNA strands by default."
Moreover, the ambitious goal of resurrecting these ancient viruses poses considerable challenges, from reconstructing fragmented viral genomes to understanding host-virus interactions in a vastly different environment.
"I am skeptical that this could be achieved given the lack of full understanding of how the viruses’ DNA is damaged and how to reconstruct the recovered pieces into a full viral genome. Also, the host-virus interaction, especially in a completely different environment, is something to consider."
A Glimpse into the Past
As researchers continue to dive into the world of ancient viruses, the discovery of viral remnants within Neanderthal bones offers a tantalizing glimpse into our shared evolutionary history. While the recreation of these ancient pathogens remains a daunting task, the insights gained could revolutionize our understanding of human-pathogen interactions across millennia.
Ferreira, R. C., Alves, G. V., Ramon, M., Antoneli, F., & Briones, M. R. S. (2023). Reconstructing prehistoric viral genomes from Neanderthal sequencing data. In bioRxiv (p. 2023.03.16.532919). https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.16.532919