Many human genes have adapted to the constant threat of exposure to infectious agents; according to the “hygiene hypothesis,” lack of exposure to parasites in modern settings results in immune imbalances, augmenting susceptibility to the development of autoimmune and allergic conditions. Here, by estimating the number of pathogen species/genera in a specific geographic location (pathogen richness) for 52 human populations and analyzing 91 interleukin (IL)/IL receptor genes (IL genes), we show that helminths have been a major selective force on a subset of these genes. A population genetics analysis revealed that five IL genes, including IL7R and IL18RAP, have been a target of balancing selection, a selection process that maintains genetic variability within a population. Previous identification of polymorphisms in some of these loci, and their association with autoimmune conditions, prompted us to investigate the relationship between adaptation and disease. By searching for variants in IL genes identified in genome-wide association studies, we verified that six risk alleles for inflammatory bowel (IBD) or celiac disease are significantly correlated with micropathogen richness. These data support the hygiene hypothesis for IBD and provide a large set of putative targets for susceptibility to helminth infections.

Limb girdle muscular dystrophies (LGMD) are characterized by genetic and clinical heterogeneity: seven autosomal dominant and 12 autosomal recessive loci have so far been identified. Aims of this study were to evaluate the relative proportion of the different types of LGMD in 181 predominantly Italian LGMD patients (representing 155 independent families), to describe the clinical pattern of the different forms, and to identify possible correlations between genotype, phenotype, and protein expression levels, as prognostic factors. Based on protein data, the majority of probands (n=72) presented calpain‐3 deficiency; other defects were as follows: dysferlin (n=31), sarcoglycans (n=32), α‐dystroglycan (n=4), and caveolin‐3 (n=2). Genetic analysis identified 111 different mutations, including 47 novel ones. LGMD relative frequency was as follows: LGMD1C (caveolin‐3) 1.3%; LGMD2A (calpain‐3) 28.4%; LGMD2B (dysferlin) 18.7%; LGMD2C (γ‐sarcoglycan) 4.5%; LGMD2D (α‐sarcoglycan) 8.4%; LGMD2E (β‐sarcoglycan) 4.5%; LGMD2F (δ‐sarcoglycan) 0.7%; LGMD2I (Fukutin‐related protein) 6.4%; and undetermined 27.1%. Compared to Northern European populations, Italian patients are less likely to be affected with LGMD2I. The order of decreasing clinical severity was: sarcoglycanopathy, calpainopathy, dysferlinopathy, and caveolinopathy. LGMD2I patients showed both infantile noncongenital and mild late‐onset presentations. Age at disease onset correlated with variability of genotype and protein levels in LGMD2B. Truncating mutations determined earlier onset than missense substitutions (20±5.1 years vs. 36.7±11.1 years; P=0.0037). Similarly, dysferlin absence was associated with an earlier onset when compared to partial deficiency (20.2±standard deviation [SD] 5.2 years vs. 28.4±SD 11.2 years; P=0.014). Hum Mutat 29(2), 258–266, 2008.

Historically, allelic variations in blood group antigen (BGA) genes have been regarded as possible susceptibility factors for infectious diseases. Since host–pathogen interactions are major determinants in evolution, BGAs can be thought of as selection targets. In order to verify this hypothesis, we obtained an estimate of pathogen richness for geographic locations corresponding to 52 populations distributed worldwide; after correction for multiple tests and for variables different from selective forces, significant correlations with pathogen richness were obtained for multiple variants at 11 BGA loci out of 26. In line with this finding, we demonstrate that three BGA genes, namely CD55, CD151, and SLC14A1, have been subjected to balancing selection, a process, rare outside MHC genes, which maintains variability at a locus. Moreover, we identified a gene region immediately upstream the transcription start site of FUT2 which has undergone non-neutral evolution independently from the coding region. Finally, in the case of BSG, we describe the presence of a highly divergent haplotype clade and the possible reasons for its maintenance, including frequency-dependent balancing selection, are discussed. These data indicate that BGAs have been playing a central role in the host–pathogen arms race during human evolutionary history and no other gene category shows similar levels of widespread selection, with the only exception of loci involved in antigen recognition.

Coronaviruses are dangerous zoonotic pathogens; in the last 2 decades, three coronaviruses have crossed the species barrier and caused human epidemics. One of these is the recently emerged SARS-CoV-2. We investigated how, since its divergence from a closely related bat virus, natural selection shaped the genome of SARS-CoV-2. We found that distinct coding regions in the SARS-CoV-2 genome evolved under conditions of different degrees of constraint and are consequently more or less prone to tolerate amino acid substitutions. In practical terms, the level of constraint provides indications about which proteins/protein regions are better suited as possible targets for the development of antivirals or vaccines. We also detected limited signals of positive selection in three viral ORFs. However, we warn that, in the absence of knowledge about the chain of events that determined the human spillover, these signals should not be necessarily interpreted as evidence of an adaptation to our species.