New Preprint: Using Linkage Patterns to Understand the Selective Pressures That Bacteria Face

The ecological pressures that bacteria face can be hard to determine, however selection leaves clear signatures within the genome. In our recent preprint, spearheaded by Dr. Brian Arnold, we look at patterns of linkage to nominate the selective pressures faced by the recombining bacterial pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Clear signatures emerge, suggestive of a large role of adaptive interspecies admixture and/or balancing selection (perhaps due to the existence of distinct ecological niches or colonization sites) in shaping population level diversity in this species. Congratulations to all involved!
See our preprint here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/634147v1