Heterogeneous constraint and adaptation across the malaria parasite life cycle.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary forces vary across genomes, creating disparities in how traits evolve. In organisms with complex life cycles, it is unclear how intrinsic differences among discrete life stages impact evolution. We looked for life history-driven changes in patterns of adaptation in Plasmodium falciparum, a malaria-causing parasite with a multi-stage life cycle. Categorizing genes based on their expression in different life stages, we compared patterns of between- and within-species polymorphism across stages by estimating nonsynonymous to synonymous substitution rate ratios (dN/dS) and mean pairwise nucleotide diversity ( π _NS/ π _S). Considering these alongside estimates of Tajima's D, fixation probability, adaptive diverge

SUBMITTER: Perkins SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11844417 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature