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Maria Lopopolo

@marialopopolo.bsky.social

220 followers 190 following 19 posts

Ballerina 💃 postdoctoral researcher in Paleo(meta)genomics and Evolutionary Dynamics of Infectious Diseases at Institut Pasteur, Paris- ancient bugs | infectious diseases and microbiome☠️🔍 🏠🇮🇹-->🇩🇰 🇬🇧🇨🇵

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

Did leprosy exist in the Americas before European invasion? Our lab #aDNA study at @institutpasteur.bsky.social supervised by @nrascovan.bsky.social in collab with @avanzich.bsky.social (CSU) finds M.lepromatosis in pre-colonial Ancestors from North and South America www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence

Leprosy, primarily caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is considered a disease introduced into the Americas during European colonization. However, the recent discovery of a second pathogen causing leprosy...

www.science.org

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · 12d

I had a great time at the JIHS in Tokyo yesterday, presenting my work on pre-colonial M. lepromatosis-leprosy in the Americas followed by great discussions on leprosy. Thank you so much for hosting me!

Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · Sep 1

I am still wrapping my head around the amazing week that I had first at our @spaam-community.bsky.social conference #SPAAM7 followed by 3 days of @isba11.bsky.social in Torino.
A conference that ended with a prestigious award. I am very grateful and honoured @isbarchaeology.bsky.social

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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · Aug 30

An August addendum to this 🧵 on new studies documenting the presence of Mycobacterium lepromatosis in the pre-Contact Americas. @marialopopolo.bsky.social, lead author of the study in @science.org that came out in May, has won the @isba11.bsky.social Best Paper prize! bsky.app/profile/nras... Kudos!

Nico Rascovan @nrascovan.bsky.social · Aug 29

@isba11.bsky.social
Super happy and proud for @marialopopolo.bsky.social and @avanzich.bsky.social who got the prize to the best paper at #ISBA11 in Turin.
Thanks to the jury for this honor!

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Nico Rascovan @nrascovan.bsky.social · Aug 29

@isba11.bsky.social
Super happy and proud for @marialopopolo.bsky.social and @avanzich.bsky.social who got the prize to the best paper at #ISBA11 in Turin.
Thanks to the jury for this honor!

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · Aug 19

Please help us improve #SPAAMtisch by filling out the feedback form below!

Also we are looking for new volunteers who are willing to help organising and inviting experts to give seminars. If you are interested please DM me or @bbonucci.bsky.social

SPAAM @spaam-community.bsky.social · Aug 19

Dear SPAAM community, help us improve #SPAAMtisch our longest ongoing initiative!

Whether you're a regular or just joined, we want your feedback to give voice to the community!

Please fill out this form, it will take only 3 minutes.

forms.gle/XwPko88y4D1U...

SPAAMtisch evaluation form 2025

Give us your feedback on our SPAAMtisch initiative which runs almost every month alternating seminars and round tables

forms.gle

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SPAAM @spaam-community.bsky.social · Aug 4

We're excited to welcome Sterling Wright as the next invited speaker at #SPAAM7!🎉

@anthbyte.bsky.social

Listen to his talk on August 26th in Turin or online!🔥

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SPAAM @spaam-community.bsky.social · Aug 12

Help us give a warm welcome to our newest #SPAAM7 invited speaker, Keri Burge! 🙌

Catch her talk on August 26th — live in Turin or online!

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SPAAM @spaam-community.bsky.social · Aug 15

Hello SPAAM Community!
We are looking for volunteers to contribute to our SPAAM blog: www.spaam-community.org/category/blog/
If you are interested in authoring a blog post on the SPAAM website, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] :)

Blog · SPAAM Community

Standards, Precautions, and Advances in Ancient Metagenomics

www.spaam-community.org

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · Jul 15

Don't miss our #SPAAMTisch seminar given by John Tay on "Bayesian Phylogenetic Methods for Microbial Pathogens" here is the link to follow the talk **TODAY** at **4pm CET**

Join Zoom Meeting
ut-ee.zoom.us/j/94984441034?…

Meeting ID: 949 8444 1034
Passcode: 986313

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · Jun 17

We are live now!!! Follow our @spaam-community.bsky.social seminar series happening now! 👇

SPAAM @spaam-community.bsky.social · Jun 17

Connect to our SPAAMTisch seminar happening now on “An ancient Epstein-Barr virus genome recovered from a museum penis gourd from Papua”

Join Zoom Meeting
ut-ee.zoom.us/j/9925660351...
Meeting ID: 992 5660 3512
Passcode: 047123

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

ut-ee.zoom.us

Reposted by Maria Lopopolo

Alexandra Delbot @alexandradelbot.bsky.social · Jun 6

Nicolas Rascovan @nrascovan.bsky.social est biologiste, directeur de recherche à l'Institut Pasteur de l’équipe de Paléogénomique microbienne et dernier auteur de l'étude. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence

www.science.org

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · Jun 9

Thank you @spaam-community.bsky.social 🙏 a community full of amazing scientists but also dear friends who accompanied me during the journey of my PhD and from whom I've learnt a lot ✨️

SPAAM @spaam-community.bsky.social · Jun 9

#MetagenomicsMonday While it's long been assumed that leprosy came to the Americas with Europeans, new evidence shows that Mycobacterium lepromatosis, was already infecting people here long before that, rewriting the history of leprosy's origins in the New World.
doi.org/10.1126/scie...

doi.org

Reposted by Maria Lopopolo

Institut Pasteur | 130 years of biomedical research @pasteur.fr · Jun 3

🌎🧬 Leprosy was already endemic in the Americas for 1,000+ years BEFORE Europeans arrived. Scientists analyzed DNA from ~800 samples & found Mycobacterium lepromatosis infecting Indigenous populations centuries before colonization.
#Leprosy @marialopopolo.bsky.social @nrascovan.bsky.social

Revelations on the History of Leprosy in the Americas

Leprosy existed in America long before the arrival of Europeans: a new study reveals the history of a neglected pathogen.

www.pasteur.fr

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Reposted by Maria Lopopolo

Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · May 30

And this blogpost for #WorldLeprosyDay2025 adds in the story for the "medieval" Pacific world: constantinusafricanus.com/2025/01/26/l.... With this latest work by @marialopopolo.bsky.social @nrascovan.bsky.social et al., we now have the outlines of a complete global picture. #histmed #MedievalSky

Leprosy in the Global Middle Ages: A Slow Pandemic

In August 2024, Jordan became the first country to officially eliminate leprosy.1 Countries participating in the World Health Organization (WHO)2 have committed not simply to bringing percentages o…

constantinusafricanus.com

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Reposted by Maria Lopopolo

Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · May 29

Big news in #GlobalHealthHistory today. A species of bacterium that causes leprosy, discovered in 2008 in modern patients, has been proven to have been present in the Americas well before European arrival. More details in 🧵 below: www.science.org/content/arti... #GlobalMiddleAges #histmed #aDNA 🧪

Leprosy was an American scourge long before Europeans arrived

Scientists find DNA from an enigmatic bacterium in 1000-year-old skeletons

www.science.org

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Federico Kukso @fedkukso.bsky.social · May 29

Un diente reescribe la historia americana

Una gran investigación de @nrascovan.bsky.social @marialopopolo.bsky.social @avanzich.bsky.social publicada hoy en @science.org

Lo cuento en @agenciasinc.es

www.agenciasinc.es/Reportajes/U...

Un azote antiguo: la lepra circulaba en América antes de la llegada de los europeos

En colaboración con comunidades indígenas, un equipo internacional de 40 científicos halló ADN de una de las dos bacterias responsables de esta enfermedad estigmatizante en los restos de individuos que vivieron en lo que hoy es Argentina y Canadá hace más de mil años.

www.agenciasinc.es

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

This research was done in respectful cooperation with Indigenous communities. We thank the Lax Kw’alaams & Metlakatla First Nations, and the local communties in Argentina, for their trust. Science must listen, partner, and follow the lead of communities who carry ancestral knowledge.

Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

Huge thanks to the Microbial Paleogenomics Unit and my super supportive colleagues @institutpasteur.bsky.social and all 40+ co-authors who made this work possible. A massive cross-continental effort 🧬🌎

Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

According to new molecular clock analyses, M. leprae and M. lepromatosis split between max only ~2 million years ago (not 14Mya as previously estimated). This puts their divergence in a more recent ecological and evolutionary context—much closer to today’s host and environmental conditions.

Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

Molecular clock analyses fine tuned with the collaboration of @sebduchene.bsky.social traced all current M. lepromatosis to a tMRCA of ~9,400 years ago—long before Europeans arrived. Leprosy was already in the continent for a long time. ⏳

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

The biggest surprise: M. lepromatosis DNA was found in pre-colonial individuals from today’s territory of Canada and Argentina. The disease was widespread in the Late Holocene.

Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

A modern strains with ~4,000 mutations may be relics of a deeper, ancient North American lineage. This strains suggest that M. lepromatosis may have even jumped to red squirrels in the UK ~200 years ago 🐿️ 🧬⚡

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

Most modern strains clustered in a single group: the “Present-Day Dominant Clade” (PDDC). It spreads clonally today in the USA, Mexico & Costa Rica.

Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

A modern strain from Costa Rica was grown in mice footpads to get enough DNA. Using @nanoporetech.com long reads, we built the first complete genome in a single contig.

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Maria Lopopolo @marialopopolo.bsky.social · May 29

We screened over 800 samples — from ancient teeth and modern patients biopsies — to reconstruct the evolutionary history of M. lepromatosis in the Americas.