Comparison of the Population Genetic Structures of Borrelia Virulence Gene ospC and a Putatively Neutral Intergenic Spacer
- 1Evolutionary Biology Group, Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland
Abstract
Borrelia afzelii , a major causative agent of Lyme borreliosis in Europe, exhibits high polymorphism of the outer surface protein C ( ospC ) gene, which facilitates evasion of the vertebrate immune response. Its extensive polymorphism has been hypothesized to result from balancing selection imposed by host immunity, which predicts reduced population genetic structure at ospC relative to neutrally evolving genomic regions. To test this prediction, we genotyped ospC and the rrs–rrl intergenic spacer (IGS) in B. afzelii samples from questing Ixodes ricinus ticks and bank voles ( Clethrionomys glareolus ) sampled across nine populations in Poland between 2020 and 2024. Among‐population differentiation was consistently lower at ospC than at IGS, and while IGS exhibited a significant isolation‐by‐distance pattern, no such signal was detected for ospC . Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that balancing selection maintains ospC polymorphism and counteracts geographic differentiation, with implications for the evolutionary epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis in Europe.
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BibTeX
@article{wasilewska2026comparison,
title = {{Comparison of the Population Genetic Structures of Borrelia Virulence Gene ospC and a Putatively Neutral Intergenic Spacer}},
author = {Józefina Wasilewska and Joanna Różańska‐Wróbel and Jacek Radwan},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74634},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74634},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comparison of the Population Genetic Structures of Borrelia Virulence Gene ospC and a Putatively Neutral Intergenic Spacer
AU - Józefina Wasilewska
AU - Joanna Różańska‐Wróbel
AU - Jacek Radwan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74634
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74634
AB - Borrelia afzelii , a major causative agent of Lyme borreliosis in Europe, exhibits high polymorphism of the outer surface protein C ( ospC ) gene, which facilitates evasion of the vertebrate immune response. Its extensive polymorphism has been hypothesized to result from balancing selection imposed by host immunity, which predicts reduced population genetic structure at ospC relative to neutrally evolving genomic regions. To test this prediction, we genotyped ospC and the rrs–rrl intergenic spacer (IGS) in B. afzelii samples from questing Ixodes ricinus ticks and bank voles ( Clethrionomys glareolus ) sampled across nine populations in Poland between 2020 and 2024. Among‐population differentiation was consistently lower at ospC than at IGS, and while IGS exhibited a significant isolation‐by‐distance pattern, no such signal was detected for ospC . Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that balancing selection maintains ospC polymorphism and counteracts geographic differentiation, with implications for the evolutionary epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis in Europe.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -