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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Forward Genetic Approaches in Chlamydia trachomatis
Published on: October 23, 2013
Sex, strains and virulence
I M Hastings1, B Wedgwood-Oppenheim
1Laboratoire Génétique Moléculaire des Parasites et des Vecteurs, ORSTOM, 911 Av. Agropolis, Montpellier 34032, France. I.Hastings@tattoo.ed.ac.uk
Abstract:
When are populations of infectious agents likely to evolve into distinct strains? Are they likely to differ in their virulence? Will genetically distinct strains or clones remain stable long enough to be useful as epidemiological markers? Sexual recombination can break down the genetic associations that define a strain structure, but if sex is rare or inbreeding is common, can strains persist? In this paper Ian Hastings and Bruce Wedgwood-Oppenheim show how some simple population genetic theory may provide a basis for addressing these questions.
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