The advent of animal husbandry and hunting increased human exposure to zoonotic pathogens. To understand how a zoonotic disease influenced human evolution, we studied changes in human expression of anthrax toxin receptor 2 (ANTXR2), which encodes a cell surface protein necessary for Bacillus anthracis virulence toxins to cause anthrax disease. In immune cells, ANTXR2 was 8-fold down-regulated in all available human samples compared to non-human primates, indicating regulatory changes early in the evolution of modern humans. We also observed multiple genetic signatures consistent with recent positive selection driving a European-specific decrease in ANTXR2 expression in several non-immune tissues affected by anthrax toxins. Our observations fit a model in which humans adapted to anthrax disease following early ecological changes associated with hunting and scavenging, as well as a second period of adaptation after the rise of modern agriculture.

中文翻译：

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人类炭疽毒素受体表达的进化变化的多个阶段

畜牧业和狩猎的到来增加了人类对人畜共患病原体的暴露。为了了解人畜共患疾病如何影响人类进化，我们研究了人类炭疽毒素受体2（ANTXR2）表达的变化，该编码编码炭疽芽孢杆菌毒力毒素引起炭疽病所需的细胞表面蛋白。在免疫细胞中，与非人类灵长类动物相比，所有可用人类样品中的ANTXR2均下调了8倍，这表明现代人类进化的早期便发生了调控变化。我们还观察到与最近的阳性选择相一致的多个遗传特征，这些阳性选择在受到炭疽毒素影响的一些非免疫组织中驱动了欧洲特定的ANTXR2表达下降。