Helicobacter pylori in North and South America before Columbus.
We present a molecular epidemiologic study, based on an analysis of vacA, cagA and cag right end junction genotypes from 1042 Helicobacter pylori isolates, suggesting that H. pylori was present in the New World before Columbus. Eight Native Colombian and Alaskan strains possessed novel vacA and/or cagA gene structures and were more closely related to East Asian than to non-Asian H. pylori. Some Native Alaskan strains appear to have originated in Central Asia and to have arrived after strains found in South America suggesting that H. pylori crossed the Bering Strait from Asia to the New World at different times.
Yamaoka
Yoshio
Y
Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. yyamaoka@bcm.tmc.edu
Orito
Etsuro
E
Mizokami
Masashi
M
Gutierrez
Oscar
O
Saitou
Naruya
N
Kodama
Tadashi
T
Osato
Michael S
MS
Kim
Jong G
JG
Ramirez
Francisco C
FC
Mahachai
Varocha
V
Graham
David Y
DY
D000569:Americas / Q000453:epidemiology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C074689:VacA protein, Helicobacter pylori; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori