The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas
The introduction of pathogens originating from Eurasia into the Americas during early European contact has been associated with high mortality rates among Indigenous peoples, likely contributing to their historical and precipitous population decline. However, the biological impacts of imported infec...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Genetics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.918227/full |
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| author | Evelyn Jane Collen Angad Singh Johar Angad Singh Johar João C. Teixeira João C. Teixeira João C. Teixeira Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas |
| author_facet | Evelyn Jane Collen Angad Singh Johar Angad Singh Johar João C. Teixeira João C. Teixeira João C. Teixeira Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas |
| author_sort | Evelyn Jane Collen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The introduction of pathogens originating from Eurasia into the Americas during early European contact has been associated with high mortality rates among Indigenous peoples, likely contributing to their historical and precipitous population decline. However, the biological impacts of imported infectious diseases and resulting epidemics, especially in terms of pathogenic effects on the Indigenous immunity, remain poorly understood and highly contentious to this day. Here, we examine multidisciplinary evidence underpinning colonization-related immune genetic change, providing contextualization from anthropological studies, paleomicrobiological evidence of contrasting host-pathogen coevolutionary histories, and the timings of disease emergence. We further summarize current studies examining genetic signals reflecting post-contact Indigenous population bottlenecks, admixture with European and other populations, and the putative effects of natural selection, with a focus on ancient DNA studies and immunity-related findings. Considering current genetic evidence, together with a population genetics theoretical approach, we show that post-contact Indigenous immune adaptation, possibly influenced by selection exerted by introduced pathogens, is highly complex and likely to be affected by multifactorial causes. Disentangling putative adaptive signals from those of genetic drift thus remains a significant challenge, highlighting the need for the implementation of population genetic approaches that model the short time spans and complex demographic histories under consideration. This review adds to current understandings of post-contact immunity evolution in Indigenous peoples of America, with important implications for bettering our understanding of human adaptation in the face of emerging infectious diseases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T17:23:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e7b906bad4524dc8b64935f47df5c58b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-8021 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T17:23:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Genetics |
| spelling | doaj.art-e7b906bad4524dc8b64935f47df5c58b2022-12-22T01:39:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Genetics1664-80212022-08-011310.3389/fgene.2022.918227918227The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the AmericasEvelyn Jane Collen0Angad Singh Johar1Angad Singh Johar2João C. Teixeira3João C. Teixeira4João C. Teixeira5Bastien Llamas6Bastien Llamas7Bastien Llamas8Bastien Llamas9Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaSchool of Culture History and Language, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaCentre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaAustralian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaCentre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaNational Centre for Indigenous Genomics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaTelethon Kids Institute, Indigenous Genomics Research Group, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaThe introduction of pathogens originating from Eurasia into the Americas during early European contact has been associated with high mortality rates among Indigenous peoples, likely contributing to their historical and precipitous population decline. However, the biological impacts of imported infectious diseases and resulting epidemics, especially in terms of pathogenic effects on the Indigenous immunity, remain poorly understood and highly contentious to this day. Here, we examine multidisciplinary evidence underpinning colonization-related immune genetic change, providing contextualization from anthropological studies, paleomicrobiological evidence of contrasting host-pathogen coevolutionary histories, and the timings of disease emergence. We further summarize current studies examining genetic signals reflecting post-contact Indigenous population bottlenecks, admixture with European and other populations, and the putative effects of natural selection, with a focus on ancient DNA studies and immunity-related findings. Considering current genetic evidence, together with a population genetics theoretical approach, we show that post-contact Indigenous immune adaptation, possibly influenced by selection exerted by introduced pathogens, is highly complex and likely to be affected by multifactorial causes. Disentangling putative adaptive signals from those of genetic drift thus remains a significant challenge, highlighting the need for the implementation of population genetic approaches that model the short time spans and complex demographic histories under consideration. This review adds to current understandings of post-contact immunity evolution in Indigenous peoples of America, with important implications for bettering our understanding of human adaptation in the face of emerging infectious diseases.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.918227/fullIndigenous peoples of AmericaNative Americansimmunitycolonizationimmunogenetic adaptationinfectious disease |
| spellingShingle | Evelyn Jane Collen Angad Singh Johar Angad Singh Johar João C. Teixeira João C. Teixeira João C. Teixeira Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas Bastien Llamas The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas Frontiers in Genetics Indigenous peoples of America Native Americans immunity colonization immunogenetic adaptation infectious disease |
| title | The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas |
| title_full | The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas |
| title_fullStr | The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas |
| title_full_unstemmed | The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas |
| title_short | The immunogenetic impact of European colonization in the Americas |
| title_sort | immunogenetic impact of european colonization in the americas |
| topic | Indigenous peoples of America Native Americans immunity colonization immunogenetic adaptation infectious disease |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2022.918227/full |
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