Candidates for Balancing Selection in Leishmania donovani Complex Parasites.

ABSTRACT: The Leishmania donovani species complex is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis, which cause 20-40,000 fatalities a year. Here, we conduct a screen for balancing selection in this species complex. We used 384 publicly available L. donovani and L. infantum genomes, and sequence 93 isolates of L. infantum from Brazil to describe the global diversity of this species complex. We identify five genetically distinct populations that are sufficiently represented by genomic data to search for signatures of selection. We find that signals of balancing selection are generally not shared between populations, consistent with transient adaptive events, rather than long-term balancing selection. We then apply multiple diversity metrics to identify candidate genes with robust signatures of balanc

SUBMITTER: Grace CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8717319 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature