Multiple stages of evolutionary change in anthrax toxin receptor expression in humans

Lauren A. Choate, Gilad Barshad, Pierce W. McMahon, Iskander Said, Edward J. Rice, Paul R. Munn, James J. Lewis () and Charles G. Danko ()
Additional contact information
Lauren A. Choate: Cornell University
Gilad Barshad: Cornell University
Pierce W. McMahon: Cornell University
Iskander Said: Cornell University
Edward J. Rice: Cornell University
Paul R. Munn: Cornell University
James J. Lewis: Cornell University
Charles G. Danko: Cornell University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The advent of animal husbandry and hunting increased human exposure to zoonotic pathogens. To understand how a zoonotic disease may have influenced human evolution, we study changes in human expression of anthrax toxin receptor 2 (ANTXR2), which encodes a cell surface protein necessary for Bacillus anthracis virulence toxins to cause anthrax disease. In immune cells, ANTXR2 is 8-fold down-regulated in all available human samples compared to non-human primates, indicating regulatory changes early in the evolution of modern humans. We also observe multiple genetic signatures consistent with recent positive selection driving a European-specific decrease in ANTXR2 expression in multiple tissues affected by anthrax toxins. Our observations fit a model in which humans adapted to anthrax disease following early ecological changes associated with hunting and scavenging, as well as a second period of adaptation after the rise of modern agriculture.

Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26854-z Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26854-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26854-z

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().