Retrieval of 21 new ancient sheeppox virus genomes from archaeological and codicological materials, spanning the last 3,500 years.
Sheeppox virus (SPPV; Capripoxvirus sheeppox) is a major livestock pathogen today causing economic hardship in the Global South through reduced production and death of vulnerable sheep. The disease is thought to have affected Eurasian societies for millennia, with descriptions of sheeppox-like disease recorded since Roman antiquity. Here we report the recovery of 20 ancient SPPV genomes spanning the Bronze Age period in the Eurasian steppes (~1,700 BCE) to the Early Modern period in Western Europe. Our dataset includes multiple genomes obtained from medieval parchment manuscripts, demonstrating that skin-based documents represent an under-recognized source of pathogen genomes from the past. Using this temporal genomic dataset, we refine the evolutionary history of the Capripoxvirus genus and estimate that major capripoxvirus lineages diverged ~11,500-3,700 years ago, depending on tree topology and mutation model. Our dataset supports SPPV representing the earliest split from the lineage leading to goatpox virus and lumpy skin disease virus (Capripoxvirus goatpox and Capripoxvirus lumpyskinpox). We determine that known gene inactivation events within SPPV and goatpox virus are also found in our earliest SPPV genomes and therefore occurred rapidly following its divergence. Together, these findings reshape our understanding of sheeppox history, the burden of livestock disease in medieval Europe, and Capripoxvirus evolution.
Sheeppox virus (SPPV; Capripoxvirus sheeppox) is a major livestock pathogen today causing economic hardship in the Global South through reduced production and death of vulnerable sheep. The disease is thought to have affected Eurasian societies for millennia, with descriptions of sheeppox-like disease recorded since Roman antiquity. Here we report the recovery of 20 ancient SPPV genomes spanning the Bronze Age period in the Eurasian steppes (~1,700 BCE) to the Early Modern period in Western Europe. Our dataset includes multiple genomes obtained from medieval parchment manuscripts, demonstrating that skin-based documents represent an under-recognized source of pathogen genomes from the past. Using this temporal genomic dataset, we refine the evolutionary history of the Capripoxvirus genus and estimate that major capripoxvirus lineages diverged ~11,500-3,700 years ago, depending on tree topology and mutation model. Our dataset supports SPPV representing the earliest split from the lineage leading to goatpox virus and lumpy skin disease virus (Capripoxvirus goatpox and Capripoxvirus lumpyskinpox). We determine that known gene inactivation events within SPPV and goatpox virus are also found in our earliest SPPV genomes and therefore occurred rapidly following its divergence. Together, these findings reshape our understanding of sheeppox history, the burden of livestock disease in medieval Europe, and Capripoxvirus evolution.
University College Dublin