Search PubMedSearch

PubMed · 42710491

Tracing the evolution and diversity of human parvovirus B19 across human history.

Teresa Zeibig·Maria A Spyrou·Arthur Kocher·Emily Gaul·Mark Aldenderfer·Rodrigo Barquera·Jessica F Beckett·Arman Beisenov·Andrey B Belinski·Philip P Betancourt·Ruth Boersma·Pablo Carrion·Ainash Childebayeva·Christine Cooper·Francesco Cucca·Rosaria Di Salvo·Marko Dizdar·Leyla Djansugurova·Michal Ernée·Susan C Ferrence·Lars Fehren-Schmitz·Ayshin Ghalichi·Karen L Giffin·Steven Gilbert·Jorge A Gómez-Valdés·Joscha Gretzinger·Leif Hansen·Svend Hansen·Diana Iraiz Hernandez-Zaragoza·Rimantas Jankauskas·Choongwon Jeong·Marcel Keller·Valery Khartanovich·Daewook Kim·Rebecca Kinaston·Alexey Kovalev·Justina Kozakaitė·Dirk Krausse·Siniša Krznar·Mario Küßner·Louise C Langford·Luca Lai·Sandra Lösch·Kerttu Majander·Marcello A Mannino·Lourdes Márquez-Morfín·Michael McCormick·Photini J P McGeorge·Megan Michel·Vyacheslav Moiseyev·Hyoungmin Moon·Angela Mötsch·Lyazzat Musralina·Erdene Myagmar·Elia Nakoro·Rita E Németh·Gunnar U Neumann·Mario Novak·Lauro Olmo Enciso·Päivi Onkamo·Luka Papac·Sanni Peltola·Cosimo Posth·Adam Powell·Chantal Radimilahy·Dragana Rajković·Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa·Bako Nirina Rasoarifetra·Sabine Reinhold·Roberto Risch·Zainolla Samashev·Duncan Sayer·Vittoria Schimmenti·Felicitas Schmitt·Elena Sintes·Philip Slavin·Denis Sorokin·Thomas Terberger·Rezeda Tukhbatova·Åshild J Vågene·Katrien Van de Vijver·Alfonso Vigil-Escalera Guirado·Vanessa Villalba-Mouco·Dmitriy Voyakin·Eun Jin Woo·Teresa Ximenez·Philipp Stockhammer·Christina Warinner·Kirsten Bos·Stephan Schiffels·Alissa Mittnik·Wolfgang Haak·Alexander Herbig·Johannes Krause

Abstract

Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) is an ubiquitously spread, exclusively human pathogen, mainly posing risks to children, as well as pregnant and immunocompromised individuals. Despite evidence of B19V infection of human populations as far back as 7,000 years, the evolutionary history of B19V remains poorly understood. In this study, we present B19V genomic data from the remains of 53 globally distributed individuals spanning more than 8,000 years, including 7 children. Our findings suggest that the most recent common ancestor of all present B19V lineages existed around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. Additionally, we identified an extinct Eurasian clade that participated in the recombination event that led to the emergence of B19V genotype 2 (GT-2). We date this event to ∼3,200-1,800 BP, potentially in the greater Mediterranean area. Our study shows aspects of how ancient parvovirus variants arose, disseminated, and impacted human health through time.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Teresa Zeibig, Maria A Spyrou, Arthur Kocher, Emily Gaul, Mark Aldenderfer, Rodrigo Barquera, Jessica F Beckett, Arman Beisenov, Andrey B Belinski, Philip P Betancourt, Ruth Boersma, Pablo Carrion, Ainash Childebayeva, Christine Cooper, Francesco Cucca, Rosaria Di Salvo, Marko Dizdar, Leyla Djansugurova, Michal Ernée, Susan C Ferrence, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Ayshin Ghalichi, Karen L Giffin, Steven Gilbert, Jorge A Gómez-Valdés, Joscha Gretzinger, Leif Hansen, Svend Hansen, Diana Iraiz Hernandez-Zaragoza, Rimantas Jankauskas, Choongwon Jeong, Marcel Keller, Valery Khartanovich, Daewook Kim, Rebecca Kinaston, Alexey Kovalev, Justina Kozakaitė, Dirk Krausse, Siniša Krznar, Mario Küßner, Louise C Langford, Luca Lai, Sandra Lösch, Kerttu Majander, Marcello A Mannino, Lourdes Márquez-Morfín, Michael McCormick, Photini J P McGeorge, Megan Michel, Vyacheslav Moiseyev, Hyoungmin Moon, Angela Mötsch, Lyazzat Musralina, Erdene Myagmar, Elia Nakoro, Rita E Németh, Gunnar U Neumann, Mario Novak, Lauro Olmo Enciso, Päivi Onkamo, Luka Papac, Sanni Peltola, Cosimo Posth, Adam Powell, Chantal Radimilahy, Dragana Rajković, Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa, Bako Nirina Rasoarifetra, Sabine Reinhold, Roberto Risch, Zainolla Samashev, Duncan Sayer, Vittoria Schimmenti, Felicitas Schmitt, Elena Sintes, Philip Slavin, Denis Sorokin, Thomas Terberger, Rezeda Tukhbatova, Åshild J Vågene, Katrien Van de Vijver, Alfonso Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Vanessa Villalba-Mouco, Dmitriy Voyakin, Eun Jin Woo, Teresa Ximenez, Philipp Stockhammer, Christina Warinner, Kirsten Bos, Stephan Schiffels, Alissa Mittnik, Wolfgang Haak, Alexander Herbig, Johannes Krause. 2026-09-08. Tracing the evolution and diversity of human parvovirus B19 across human history.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.032

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

Discover connections

Connections use source metadata and explicit phrase matches, not verified experimental comparisons.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

Ancient DNA and Human Physiology.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) enables the reconstruction of chronologically sampled genomes from ancient humans, animals, plants, pathogens, and microorganisms, as well as environmental DNA, providing a record of biological changes through time. Improvements in short and degraded DNA extraction methods and low-cost sequencing now enable the generation of broad, cross-regional datasets that expand evolutionary analyses from past population demography to biological mechanisms. By tracking temporal shifts of allele frequencies, integrating functional genomics resources (e.g., gene expression, chromatin structure variation), modeling population demography to separate selection from genetic drift, and aligning genetic changes with archaeological, cultural, and climatic data, aDNA has the potential to link sequence variation to physiological function within their temporal and environmental contexts. In this review, we summarize illustrative case studies from aDNA research spanning complex traits, dietary adaptations, and responses to pathogens and other environmental changes, showing how human biology has evolved under multiple selective pressures through time. These dated signals help triage experimental work and expose mechanisms that are rare or absent in living cohorts. Although some challenges remain, such as geographic and temporal sampling disparities, limitations in data resolution and variant detection, and genotype-phenotype uncertainties, rapid methodological progress and stronger ethical frameworks are expanding what can be inferred, making aDNA a promising tool for refining physiological pathways, their timing, and their drivers.

Humans

Genomic history of the Caucasus: A systematic review and meta-analysis of ancient DNA studies.

The Caucasus region represents a unique natural laboratory for paleogenetic research due to its complex topography, long-standing role as a migratory corridor and glacial refugium, and exceptional preservation conditions for ancient DNA. This review synthesizes recent genome-wide studies to reconstruct the demographic history shaping the distinctive genetic landscape of modern Caucasus populations. The analysis reveals a deep pattern of continuity, isolation, and periodic admixture. Early genetic differentiation emerged in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic, forming distinct steppe and mountain population clusters. The Bronze Age was a pivotal period marked by large-scale gene flow from the Eurasian Steppe, particularly linked to the Yamnaya expansion, and interactions with Iranian and Anatolian-related groups. Despite these influences, many populations demonstrate remarkable genetic continuity from the Bronze Age to the present day. Significant knowledge gaps persist, particularly for the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic of the North Caucasus, as well as for the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods across the entire region. Addressing these gaps through targeted archaeogenomic studies is crucial for understanding the fine-scale processes that formed the hierarchical structure and high linguistic diversity of Caucasus populations, offering a powerful model for studying human adaptation, interaction, and language-genetics dynamics in a mountainous environment.

Humans

Target Capture of Ancient Shell DNA Enables Phylogenetic Reconstruction of Deep-Sea Molluscs.

Target capture is widely used to enrich endogenous DNA from calcium phosphate skeletal material in vertebrates, but its performance on calcium carbonate hard parts widely produced by invertebrates remains poorly understood. Here, we compared DNA recovery from four fresh and 12 ancient (eight radiocarbon-dated to 1671-1135&#x2009;years old before present) deep-sea vesicomyid clam shells, including species Archivesica marissinica, A. nanshaensis and A. okutanii, using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) or target capture of ultraconserved elements (UCEs). WGS achieved 16.65% on-target read recovery of UCEs from fresh soft tissue, but <&#x2009;1% from shell specimens. By contrast, UCE capture in the same specimen increased on-target reads by up to 155-fold, reaching 29.84% in fresh shells and up to 72-fold, reaching 19.89% in ancient shells. Target capture of UCEs recovered 142-1001 loci per sample compared to 0-230 with WGS alone. Ancient shells of A. marissinica and A. okutanii, based on reads mapped with bwa-mem2 and bbmap, exhibited characteristic post-mortem DNA damage signals, with average 5'-end C-to-T misincorporation rates of 3.46% and 15.97%, respectively, exceeding the levels observed in fresh A. marissinica shells (maximum 1.24%). UCE-based phylogenetic reconstructions incorporating shell ancient DNA recovered two major clades within Pliocardiinae, consistent with published phylogenomic trees. Together, these findings demonstrate that target-capture enrichment enables effective recovery of highly degraded DNA from ancient mollusc shells and supports robust phylogenetic inference at the intrageneric scale, expanding the utility of shells-one of the most abundant invertebrate remains-for evolutionary, biogeographic and conservation studies.

Animals