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Natural selection promotes antigenic evolvability.

Christopher J Graves1, Vera I D Ros, Brian Stevenson

  • 1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Natural selection favors diversity in pathogen genes, enhancing their ability to evolve. This study shows Borrelia burgdorferi promotes evolvability through genetic variation in its VlsE surface antigen.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Microbial genetics

Background:

  • Evolvability, the capacity to evolve, is hypothesized to be shaped by natural selection.
  • Antigenic variation in pathogens offers a model to study the evolution of evolvability.
  • Mechanisms like cassette recombination increase antigenic change, driven by genetic diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if natural selection favors genetic diversity in unexpressed cassettes of Borrelia burgdorferi's VlsE antigen.
  • To investigate if this diversity promotes antigenic evolvability in the Lyme disease bacterium.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of genetic sequence data from Borrelia burgdorferi strains.
  • Application of classical (dN/dS ratios) and Bayesian population genetic analyses.
  • Examination of tandem-repeat structures within vls cassettes.

Main Results:

  • Natural selection was found to favor amino acid diversity among unexpressed vls cassettes.
  • Conserved, mutable tandem-repeat structures were identified across strains, despite low sequence conservation.
  • Evidence supports that selection promotes antigenic evolvability by increasing cassette diversity.

Conclusions:

  • Molecular mechanisms enhancing surface antigen evolvability are evolutionary adaptations.
  • Diversification of vls cassettes promotes long-term antigenic evolvability of VlsE in Borrelia burgdorferi.
  • Identified evolutionary processes can model antigenic evolvability in other chronic infectious pathogens.