Open AccessAncient oncogenesis, infection and human evolution
Author(s) -
Rifkin Riaan F.,
Potgieter Marnie,
Ramond JeanBaptiste,
Cowan Don A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
evolutionary applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 68
ISSN - 1752-4571
DOI - 10.1111/eva.12497
Subject(s) - biology , ancient dna , evolutionary biology , human pathogen , prologue , human disease , lineage (genetic) , longevity , human evolution , human health , carcinogenesis , disease , cancer , genetics , history , archaeology , demography , gene , population , sociology , medicine , environmental health , pathology
The recent discovery that malignant neoplastic lesions date back nearly 2 million years ago not only highlights the antiquity of cancer in the human lineage, but also provides remarkable insight into ancestral hominin disease pathology. Using these E arly P leistocene examples as a point of departure, we emphasize the prominent role of viral and bacterial pathogens in oncogenesis and evaluate the impact of pathogens on human evolutionary processes in A frica. In the S hakespearean vernacular “what's past is prologue,” we highlight the significance of novel information derived from ancient pathogenic DNA . In particular, and given the temporal depth of human occupation in sub‐ S aharan A frica, it is emphasized that the region is ideally positioned to play a strategic role in the discovery of ancient pathogenic drivers of not only human mortality, but also human evolution. Ancient A frican pathogen genome data can provide novel revelations concerning human‐pathogen coevolutionary processes, and such knowledge is essential for forecasting the ways in which emerging zoonotic and increasingly transmissible diseases might influence human demography and longevity in the future.