Variation in O-antigens, niche-specific selection and bacterial populations

Bacterial populations usually consist of distinct clones, often apparently adapted to specific niches. A formal model is developed whereby niche-specific selection maintains the polymorphisms involved in clonal adaptation. Infrequent transfer of non-adaptive alleles to a clone is balanced by the selection for the resident adaptive allele. The model can account for the extensive polymorphism in surface antigens observed in bacteria, and also for the existence of sympatric clones of pathogenic species which differ in host range and/or mode of pathogenesis. Niche-specific selection combined with low levels of genetic transfer can also account for the high level of neutral variation in bacteria, and indirectly for their ability to respond rapidly to environmental changes.