Sub-Saharan African information potential to unveil adaptations to infectious disease

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most promising region of the world to conduct high-throughput studies to unveil adaptations to infectious diseases due to several reasons, namely: the longest evolving time-depth in the Homo sapiens phylogenetic tree (at least 2/3 older than any other worldwide region); the continuous burden of infectious diseases (still number one in health/life threat); and the coexistence of populations practising diverse subsistence modes (nomadic or seminomadic hunter-gatherers and agropastoralists, and sedentary agriculturalists, small urban and megacity groups). In this review we will present the most up-to-date results that shed light on three main hypotheses related with this adaptation. One is the hypothesis of coevolution between host and pathogen, given enough time for the establishment of this highly dynamic relationship. The second hypothesis enunciates that the agricultural transition was responsible for the increase of the infectious disease burden, due to the huge expansion of the sedentary human population and the cohabitation with domesticates as main reservoirs of pathogens. The third hypothesis states that the boosting of our immune system against pathogens by past selection may have resulted in maladaptation of the developed hygienic societies, leading to an increase of allergic, inflammatory- and autoimmune disorders. Further work will enlighten the biological mechanisms behind these main adaptations, which can be insightful for translation into diagnosis, prognosis and treatment interventions.

First insight into oral microbiome diversity in Papua New Guineans reveals a specific regional signature

“…Iron plays an important role in infection and i mmuni ty, for both pathogens and host cells (Nairz & Weiss, 2020). While it is well-known that pathogens and di e t are motors for human adaptation, understudied populations still have the potential to shed l i ght on new adaptations (Pedro, Pinto, Cavadas, & Pereira, 2021). In this case, the environmental pre ssure (e.g.…”

“…Iron plays an important role in infection and immunity, for both pathogens and host cells (Nairz & Weiss, 2020). While it is well‐known that pathogens and diet are motors for human adaptation, understudied populations still have the potential to shed light on new adaptations (Pedro et al, 2021). In this case, the environmental pressure (e.g., high pathogenic pressure, specific diet and plant use) observed in New Guinea and north Australia (Horwood et al, 2019) might have led to the development of a Sahul‐specific oral microbiome.…”

Mitochondrial DNA in Human Diversity and Health: From the Golden Age to the Omics Era

“…The post-genomic era is driving us to the use of more refined approaches of human genetic diversity, by HT sequencing methods, microarray SNP genotyping and by exploring public datasets of present-day and aDNA human data. Very recently, human population genomic studies have also been immersed in a multi-omics perspective [ 151 , 152 , 153 ].…”