Origins of treponemal diseases

Treponemal diseases are prevalent worldwide, in particular syphilis appears as a global threat that is currently re-emerging. However, the origins of these diseases remain unknown and heavily debated. In this project, we work on ancient and modern Treponema pallidum samples to reconstruct the past and modern diversity of the different subspecies.

Clean room facilities, modern DNA laboratories, Functional Genomic Centre Zürich

Prof. Verena J. Schünemann

• Prof. Dr. Johannes Krause (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History/Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen)
• Dr. Natasha Arora (Forensic Medicine, UZH)
• Dr. Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer (Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms & Viral Evolution, Robert Koch Institute)
• Prof. Dr. Kay Nieselt (Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Tübingen)

• Historic Treponema pallidum genomes from Colonial Mexico retrieved from archaeological remains.

• Schuenemann VJ, Kumar Lankapalli A, Barquera R, Nelson EA, Iraíz Hernández D, Acuña Alonzo V, Bos KI, Márquez Morfín L, Herbig A, Krause J.

  PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Jun 21;12(6):e0006447.

• Origin of modern syphilis and emergence of a pandemic Treponema pallidum cluster.

• Arora N, Schuenemann VJ, Jäger G, Peltzer A, Seitz A, Herbig A, Strouhal M, Grillová L, Sánchez-Busó L, Kühnert D, Bos KI, Davis LR, Mikalová L, Bruisten S, Komericki P, French P, Grant PR, Pando MA, Vaulet LG, Fermepin MR, Martinez A, Centurion Lara A, Giacani L, Norris SJ, Šmajs D, Bosshard PP, González-Candelas F, Nieselt K, Krause J, Bagheri HC.

• Nat Microbiol. 2016 Dec 5;2:16245.

• Tools for opening new chapters in the book of Treponema pallidum evolutionary history.

• Gogarten JF, Düx A, Schuenemann VJ, Nowak K, Boesch C, Wittig RM, Krause J, Calvignac-Spencer S, Leendertz FH.

• Clin Microbiol Infect. 2016 Nov;22(11):916-921.