TY - JOUR
T1 - Ancient hepatitis B viruses from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period
AU - Mühlemann, Barbara
AU - Jones, Terry C.
AU - Damgaard, Peter de Barros
AU - Allentoft, Morten Erik
AU - Shevnina, Irina
AU - Logvin, Andrey
AU - Usmanova, Emma
AU - Panyushkina, Irina P.
AU - Boldgiv, Bazartseren
AU - Bazartseren, Tsevel
AU - Tashbaeva, Kadicha
AU - Merz, Victor
AU - Lau, Nina
AU - Smrcka, Vaclav
AU - Voyakin, Dmitry
AU - Kitov, Egor
AU - Epimakhov, Andrey
AU - Pokutta, Dalia
AU - Vicze, Magdolna
AU - Price, T. Douglas
AU - Moiseyev, Vyacheslav
AU - Hansen, Anders Johannes
AU - Orlando, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre
AU - Rasmussen, Simon
AU - Sikora, Martin
AU - Vinner, Lasse
AU - Osterhaus, Albert D. M. E.
AU - Smith, Derek J.
AU - Glebe, Dieter
AU - Fouchier, Ron A. M.
AU - Drosten, Christian
AU - Sjögren, Karl-Goran
AU - Kristiansen, Kristian
AU - Willerslev, Eske
N1 - Author Correction: Ancient hepatitis B viruses from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of human hepatitis. There is considerable uncertainty about the timescale of its evolution and its association with humans. Here we present 12 full or partial ancient HBV genomes that are between approximately 0.8 and 4.5 thousand years old. The ancient sequences group either within or in a sister relationship with extant human or other ape HBV clades. Generally, the genome properties follow those of modern HBV. The root of the HBV tree is projected to between 8.6 and 20.9 thousand years ago, and we estimate a substitution rate of 8.04 × 10−6–1.51 × 10−5 nucleotide substitutions per site per year. In several cases, the geographical locations of the ancient genotypes do not match present-day distributions. Genotypes that today are typical of Africa and Asia, and a subgenotype from India, are shown to have an early Eurasian presence. The geographical and temporal patterns that we observe in ancient and modern HBV genotypes are compatible with well-documented human migrations during the Bronze and Iron Ages1,2. We provide evidence for the creation of HBV genotype A via recombination, and for a long-term association of modern HBV genotypes with humans, including the discovery of a human genotype that is now extinct. These data expose a complexity of HBV evolution that is not evident when considering modern sequences alone.
AB - Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of human hepatitis. There is considerable uncertainty about the timescale of its evolution and its association with humans. Here we present 12 full or partial ancient HBV genomes that are between approximately 0.8 and 4.5 thousand years old. The ancient sequences group either within or in a sister relationship with extant human or other ape HBV clades. Generally, the genome properties follow those of modern HBV. The root of the HBV tree is projected to between 8.6 and 20.9 thousand years ago, and we estimate a substitution rate of 8.04 × 10−6–1.51 × 10−5 nucleotide substitutions per site per year. In several cases, the geographical locations of the ancient genotypes do not match present-day distributions. Genotypes that today are typical of Africa and Asia, and a subgenotype from India, are shown to have an early Eurasian presence. The geographical and temporal patterns that we observe in ancient and modern HBV genotypes are compatible with well-documented human migrations during the Bronze and Iron Ages1,2. We provide evidence for the creation of HBV genotype A via recombination, and for a long-term association of modern HBV genotypes with humans, including the discovery of a human genotype that is now extinct. These data expose a complexity of HBV evolution that is not evident when considering modern sequences alone.
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0406-6
U2 - 10.1038/s41586-018-0097-z
DO - 10.1038/s41586-018-0097-z
M3 - Letter
C2 - 29743673
VL - 557
SP - 418
EP - 423
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7705
ER -