Strong Positive Selection Biases Identity-By-Descent-Based Inferences of Recent Demography and Population Structure in Plasmodium falciparum.

ABSTRACT: Malaria genomic surveillance often estimates parasite genetic relatedness using metrics such as Identity-By-Decent (IBD). Yet, strong positive selection stemming from antimalarial drug resistance or other interventions may bias IBD-based estimates. In this study, we utilized simulations, a true IBD inference algorithm, and empirical datasets from different malaria transmission settings to investigate the extent of such bias and explore potential correction strategies. We analyzed whole genome sequence data generated from 640 new and 4,026 publicly available Plasmodium falciparum clinical isolates. Our findings demonstrated that positive selection distorts IBD distributions, leading to underestimated effective population size and blurred population structure. Additionally, we discove

SUBMITTER: Guo B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10370022 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature