Population genomics of ancient and modernTrichuris trichiura

AbstractThe neglected tropical disease trichuriasis is caused by the whipwormTrichuris trichiura, a soil-transmitted helminth that has infected humans for millennia. Today,T. trichiurainfects as many as 500 million people, predominantly in communities with poor sanitary infrastructure enabling sustained faecal-oral transmission. Using whole-genome sequencing of geographically distributed worms collected from human and other primate hosts, together with ancient samples preserved in archaeologically-defined latrines and deposits dated up to one thousand years old, we present the first population genomics study ofT. trichiura. We describe the continent-scale genetic structure between whipworms infecting humans and baboons relative to those infecting other primates. Admixture and population demographic analyses support a stepwise distribution of genetic variation that is highest in Uganda, consistent with an African origin and subsequent translocation with human migration. Finally, genome-wide analyses between human samples and between human and non-human primate samples reveal local regions of genetic differentiation between geographically distinct populations. These data provide insight into zoonotic reservoirs of human-infectiveT. trichiuraand will support future efforts toward the implementation of genomic epidemiology of this globally important helminth.