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How often do they have sex? A comparative analysis of the population structure of seven eukaryotic microbial

Nicolás Tomasini1, Juan José Lauthier1, Francisco José Ayala2

  • 1Unidad de Epidemiología Molecular (UEM), Instituto de Patología Experimental, Universidad Nacional de Salta-CONICET, Salta, Salta, Argentina.

Plos One
|July 24, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Genetic exchange in predominantly clonal pathogens varies, impacting their evolution. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) reveals diverse population structures but has limitations in detecting genetic exchange, especially in yeasts like Candida.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The predominant clonal evolution (PCE) model suggests rare genetic exchange in micropathogens.
  • Evaluating the impact of residual genetic exchange is crucial for understanding pathogen evolution.
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) is a valuable tool for investigating population genetics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the impact of residual genetic exchange on population structure in eukaryotic microbial pathogens.
  • To compare genetic structures and recombination levels across seven diverse pathogenic species using MLST data.
  • To identify limitations of MLST in resolving genetic structures influenced by varying levels of genetic exchange.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of publicly available MLST datasets for seven eukaryotic microbial pathogens.
  • Phylogenetic analysis of genotypes within each pathogen dataset.
  • Examination of branch support and inter-locus incongruence to infer genetic structure and recombination.

Main Results:

  • Identified three distinct genetic structures: well-structured populations with low recombination (e.g., T. cruzi), ambiguously structured populations (e.g., Blastocystis spp.), and highly recombined populations (e.g., Candida species).
  • Candida species showed high inter-locus incongruence, indicating significant impact of genetic exchange.
  • Simulations demonstrated MLST's potential to misinterpret population clustering, even without genetic exchange.

Conclusions:

  • The impact of genetic exchange varies significantly among predominantly clonal micro-pathogen populations.
  • MLST presents challenges in accurately determining genetic structure for certain organisms, particularly those with high recombination rates.
  • Further methodological considerations are needed when using MLST to study the population genetics of these pathogens.

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