On the relative roles of background selection and genetic hitchhiking in shaping human cytomegalovirus genetic diversity.

ABSTRACT: A central focus of population genetics has been examining the contribution of selective and neutral processes in shaping patterns of intraspecies diversity. In terms of selection specifically, surveys of higher organisms have shown considerable variation in the relative contributions of background selection and genetic hitchhiking in shaping the distribution of polymorphisms, although these analyses have rarely been extended to bacteria and viruses. Here, we study the evolution of a ubiquitous, viral pathogen, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), by analysing the relationship among intraspecies diversity, interspecies divergence and rates of recombination. We show that there is a strong correlation between diversity and divergence, consistent with expectations of neutral evolution. However, after

SUBMITTER: Renzette N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4706826 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature