Bacteria of the species Treponema pallidum are causative agents of venereal syphilis (Treponema pallidum pallidum), Bejel (T. p. endemicum), and yaws (T. p. pertenue) in humans. We documented Treponema pallidum infections associated with disease in wild sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, and green monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus) from Bijilo Forest Park, Gambia and Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal. To examine the evolutionary relatedness of these treponemes to those responsible for diseases in humans and for previously documented infections in baboons (Papio papio), we conducted a hybridization capture experiment to enrich Treponema pallidum DNA from samples collected from symptomatic individuals. This approach allowed us to sequence the full genomes of Treponema pallidum strains infecting sooty mangabeys (n = 2) and green monkeys (n = 4). Phylogenomic analyses revealed that all Treponema pallidum strains infecting non-human primates are most closely related to the sub-species T. p. pertenue. Strains infecting humans and non-human primates do not appear to be reciprocally monophyletic. The star-like phylogenetic branching pattern of the T. p. pertenue clade, with short basal branches receiving low statistical support, suggests a rapid initial radiation across humans and non-human primates. These results greatly broaden the known host range of T.p. pertenue and suggest the existence of a vast zoonotic reservoir that could possibly contribute to the failure of global eradication efforts.
Contributor Information
A. Düx, Project Group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
V.J. Schuenemann, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
J.F. Gogarten, Project Group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany; Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
H.M. De Nys, Project Group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany; UMI 233, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) and University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
K. Nieselt, Center for Bioinformatics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
M.A. Mayhew, Department of Science, Natural Resources and Outdoor Studies, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, UK.
F.H. Leendertz, Project Group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
S. Calvignac-Spencer, Project Group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
J. Krause, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.