Decoding humans' survival from coronoviruses
An international team of researchers co-led by the 成人大片 and the University of Arizona has analysed the genomes of听more than听2,500听modern humans from听26 worldwide populations,听to better understand how humans have adapted to historical coronavirus outbreaks.
In a paper published in听, the researchers used cutting-edge computational methods to uncover听genetic traces of adaptation to coronaviruses, the family of viruses responsible for three major outbreaks in the last 20 years, including the ongoing pandemic.
鈥淥ur past interactions with viruses have left telltale genetic signals that we can leverage to identify genes influencing infection and disease in modern populations, and can inform drug repurposing efforts and the development of new treatments.鈥Co-author Ray Tobler, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, School of Biological Sciences, The 成人大片.
鈥淢odern human genomes contain evolutionary information tracing back hundreds of thousands of years, however it鈥檚 only in the听past few decades geneticists have learned how to decode the extensive information captured within our genomes,鈥澨said听lead author Dr听, with the 成人大片鈥檚 Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences.
鈥This includes physiological and immunological 鈥榓daptions鈥 that have enabled humans to survive new threats, including viruses.
鈥淰iruses are very simple creatures with the sole objective to make more copies of themselves. Their simple biological structure renders them incapable of reproducing by themselves so they must invade the cells of other organisms and hijack their molecular machinery to exist.鈥
Viral invasions involve attaching and interacting with specific proteins produced by the host cell known as viral interacting proteins (VIPs).
In the study researchers found signs of adaptation in 42 different human genes encoding VIPs.
鈥淲e found VIP signals in five populations from East Asia and suggest the ancestors of modern East Asians were first exposed to coronaviruses over 20,000 years ago,鈥 said Dr听Souilmi.
鈥淲e found the 42 VIPs are primarily active in the lungs 鈥 the tissue most affected by coronaviruses 鈥 and confirmed that they interact directly with the virus underlying the current pandemic.鈥
Other independent studies have shown that mutations in VIP genes may mediate coronavirus susceptibility and also the severity of COVID-19 symptoms. And several VIPs are either currently being used in drugs for COVID-19 treatments or are part of clinical trials for further drug development.
鈥淥ur past interactions with viruses have left telltale genetic signals that we can leverage to identify genes influencing听infection and disease in modern populations, and can inform drug repurposing efforts and the听development of new treatments,鈥 said co-author Dr Ray Tobler, from the听成人大片鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences.
鈥淏y uncovering the genes previously impacted by historical viral outbreaks, our study points to the promise of evolutionary genetic analyses as a new tool in fighting the outbreaks of the future.鈥 said Dr听Souilmi.
The researchers also note that their results in no way supersede pre-existing public health policies and protections, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and vaccinations.
The team involved in this study also included researchers from Australian National University and Queensland University of Technology.
Original post in the News.
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