Skinner Laiz, Felix Márcio, Rodrigues Claudia Leal, Iñiguez Alena Mayo
Laboratório de Parasitologia Integrativa e Paleoparasitologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Av. Brasil 4365, 21040-360, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Laboratório de Entomologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Av. Brasil 4365, 21040-360, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2025 May 31;7:100276. doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2025.100276. eCollection 2025.
has been infesting humans since their origin. This obligatory hematophagous and monoxenic parasite has co-evolved with its hosts, carrying genetic information that reflects this long evolutionary history. The ecotypes of are divided into six phylogenetic clades (A-F) with distinct geographical distributions. Paleoparasitological studies have revealed a high lice infestation rate in mummies from various chronological periods and cultures worldwide. In this study, we conducted a paleogenetic analysis of head lice specimens from the Entomological Collection of Oswaldo Cruz Institute, collected in Suriname in 1941, to investigate the mitochondrial haplotypes that were circulating in that population at that time. Ancient DNA was extracted from adult lice specimens, and paleogenetic analysis was performed using PCR-Sanger sequencing targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome (b) gene. Our results identified sequences belonging to the cosmopolitan clade A, specifically the haplotype A17. A17 is the second largest cosmopolitan haplotype within clade A, with representatives found across all continents, but never found in South America. In 1941, Suriname, as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, experienced various socio-political changes and movements of populations due to World War II. This finding reflects both the colonial activities of that time and the global conflicts influencing human migrations. Specimens housed in collections for many decades often exhibit degraded DNA due to preservation techniques being inappropriate for molecular studies, posing challenges for genetic analysis. Our findings highlight the importance of biological collections as valuable repositories of genetic information that can shed light on the past distributions and interactions of parasitic species.
自人类起源以来，它就一直寄生在人类身上。这种 obligatory hematophagous 和单宿主寄生虫与其宿主共同进化，携带反映这段漫长进化历史的遗传信息。 的生态型分为六个系统发育分支（A - F），具有不同的地理分布。古寄生虫学研究表明，全球不同历史时期和文化的木乃伊中虱子感染率很高。在本研究中，我们对1941年在苏里南收集的、保存在奥斯瓦尔多·克鲁兹研究所昆虫学收藏中的头虱标本进行了古遗传学分析，以调查当时在该人群中传播的 线粒体单倍型。从成年虱子标本中提取古代DNA，并使用针对线粒体细胞色素 （b）基因的PCR - Sanger测序进行古遗传学分析。我们的结果鉴定出属于世界性分支A的序列，特别是单倍型A17。A17是分支A中第二大的世界性单倍型，在各大洲都有代表，但在南美洲从未发现过。1941年，作为荷兰王国一部分的苏里南，由于第二次世界大战经历了各种社会政治变革和人口流动。这一发现既反映了当时的殖民活动，也反映了影响人类迁徙的全球冲突。由于保存技术不适用于分子研究，保存在收藏中的标本几十年来往往表现出DNA降解，这给遗传分析带来了挑战。我们的发现强调了生物收藏作为遗传信息宝贵储存库的重要性，这些信息可以揭示寄生物种过去的分布和相互作用。
