| Title: |
Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA |
| Authors: |
Guellil, M; van Dorp, L; Saag, L; Beneker, O; Bonucci, B; Sasso, S; Saupe, T; Solnik, A; Kabral, H; Allmäe, R; Bates, J; Dittmar, JM; Ge, XJ; Inskip, S; Jonuks, T; Karmanov, VN; Khartanovich, VI; Larmuseau, MHD; Aneli, S; Cessford, C; Kriiska, A; Mägi, M; Malve, M; De Winter, N; Metspalu, M; Pagani, L; Robb, JE; Kivisild, T; Houldcroft, CJ; Scheib, CL; Tambets, K |
| Source: |
Science Advances , 12 (1) , Article eadx5460. (2026) |
| Publisher Information: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
| Subject Terms: |
Herpesvirus 6; Human; Humans; DNA; Ancient; Phylogeny; Genetic Variation; Genome; Viral; Roseolovirus Infections |
| Description: |
Human betaherpesviruses 6A and 6B (HHV-6A/6B) are DNA viruses, which integrate into the human genome, and are best known to cause "sixth disease." Despite their recent discovery (1980s), they were speculated to have a much longer history within the human population than modern data suggest. We present the first 11 ancient genomes of HHV-6A and HHV-6B, dating as far back as the 8th to 6th century BCE. We demonstrate that large fractions of current HHV-6 diversity were already established by the 14th century CE. Our data corroborate that HHV-6A/6B integrations stem from ancient founder events. In addition, we show that all known inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6A clades were already represented in historical populations, confirming that HHV-6A no longer integrates into the germ line within populations of European ancestry and likely endogenized in early human history. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
text |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10220103/3/van%20Dorp_sciadv.adx5460.pdf; https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10220103/ |
| Availability: |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10220103/3/van%20Dorp_sciadv.adx5460.pdf; https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10220103/ |
| Rights: |
open |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.F11E7E4D |
| Database: |
BASE |