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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
An African origin for the intimate association between humans and Helicobacter pylori
Nature, Volume 445, No. 7130, Year 2007
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Description
Infection of the stomach by Helicobacter pylori is ubiquitous among humans. However, although H. pylori strains from different geographic areas are associated with clear phylogeographic differentiation, the age of an association between these bacteria with humans remains highly controversial. Here we show, using sequences from a large data set of bacterial strains that, as in humans, genetic diversity in H. pylori decreases with geographic distance from east Africa, the cradle of modern humans. We also observe similar clines of genetic isolation by distance (IBD) for both H. pylori and its human host at a worldwide scale. Like humans, simulations indicate that H. pylori seems to have spread from east Africa around 58,000 yr ago. Even at more restricted geographic scales, where IBD tends to become blurred, principal component clines in H. pylori from Europe strongly resemble the classical clines for Europeans described by Cavalli-Sforza and colleagues. Taken together, our results establish that anatomically modern humans were already infected by H. pylori before their migrations from Africa and demonstrate that H. pylori has remained intimately associated with their human host populations ever since. ©2007 Nature Publishing Group.
Authors & Co-Authors
Linz, Bodo
Germany, Berlin
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Balloux, François
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Moodley, Yoshan
Germany, Berlin
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Manica, Andrea
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Liu, Hua
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Roumagnac, Philippe
Germany, Berlin
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Falush, Daniel
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Stamer, Christiana
Germany, Berlin
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Prugnolle, Franck
France, Montpellier
Ird Centre de Montpellier
van der Merwe, Schalk Willem
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Yamaoka, Yoshio
United States, Houston
Baylor College of Medicine
Graham, D. Y.
United States, Houston
Baylor College of Medicine
Pérez-Trallero, Emilio
Spain, Donostia-san Sebastian
Osakidetza, Donostia University Hospital
Wadström, Torkel M.
Sweden, Lund
Lunds Universitet
Suerbaum, Sebastian
Germany, Hannover
Hannover Medical School
Achtman, Mark
Germany, Berlin
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Statistics
Citations: 911
Authors: 16
Affiliations: 9
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature05562
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Study Locations
Multi-countries