马克斯·普朗克进化人类学研究所Felix M. Key研究组发现，青铜时代来自绵羊的鼠疫耶尔森氏菌基因组揭示了史前鼠疫谱系的宿主和进化。相关论文于2025年8月11日发表在《细胞》杂志上。

然而，该课题组人员缺乏将史前动物和人类感染联系起来的直接DNA证据。该课题组研究人员展示了一个鼠疫耶尔森氏菌基因组，该基因组来自公元前3千年前的欧亚草原驯养羊，属于新石器时代晚期青铜时代（LNBA）谱系，直到现在才在欧亚大陆的古代人类中发现。小组发现，这个古老的谱系与现存的谱系一样经历了祖先基因的衰变，但在不同的选择压力下进化，导致其缺乏地理分化。该团队收集的证据支持一种情景，即LNBA谱系无法通过跳蚤有效传播，从一个未知的水库传播给绵羊和可能的其他驯养动物，增加了人类感染的风险。总的来说，他们的研究结果将史前牲畜与人类的传染性疾病联系起来，并展示了将古微生物学纳入动物考古学记录的力量。

研究人员表示，大多数人类病原体是人畜共患的。许多在史前时期出现，与驯化相吻合，为人类提供了更多的机会。

附：英文原文

Title: Bronze Age Yersinia pestis genome from sheep sheds light on hosts and evolution of a prehistoric plague lineage

Author: Ian Light-Maka, Taylor R. Hermes, Raffaela Angelina Bianco, Lena Semerau, Pavel Kosintsev, Valeriia Alekseeva, Donghee Kim, William P. Hanage, Alexander Herbig, Choongwon Jeong, Christina Warinner, Felix M. Key

Issue&Volume: 2025-08-11

Abstract: Most human pathogens are of zoonotic origin. Many emerged during prehistory, coinciding with domestication providing more opportunities for spillover into human populations. However, we lack direct DNA evidence linking animal and human infections during prehistory. Here, we present a Yersinia pestis genome recovered from a 3rd-millennium BCE domesticated sheep from the Eurasian Steppe belonging to the Late Neolithic Bronze Age (LNBA) lineage, until now exclusively identified in ancient humans across Eurasia. We show that this ancient lineage underwent ancestral gene decay paralleling extant lineages, but evolved under distinct selective pressures, contributing to its lack of geographic differentiation. We collect evidence supporting a scenario where the LNBA lineage, unable to efficiently transmit via fleas, spread from an unidentified reservoir to sheep and likely other domesticates, elevating human infection risk. Collectively, our results connect prehistoric livestock with infectious disease in humans and showcase the power of moving paleomicrobiology into the zooarchaeological record.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.07.029

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(25)00851-7