The fungus Paracoccidioides spp. is a prevalent human pathogen endemic to South America. The genus is composed by five species but most of the inference of their evolutionary history has used only a handful of nuclear markers. In this report, we use 37 whole genome sequences to study the allocation of genetic variation in Paracoccidioides. We tested predictions of advanced speciation and find support for strong divergence in the Paracoccidioides genus. We find that the five species of Paracoccidioides are reciprocally monophyletic and that their genomes confirm a history of deep divergence. We also find that the amount of gene flow between species is low and in some cases even completely absent in spite of geographic overlap. Our results indicate that the genomes of the five species of Paracoccidioides are highly differentiated and that should differentiation has not been hampered by gene exchange.
1 Molecular epidemiology of Colombian Histoplasma capsulatum isolates shows their 2 polyphyletic behavior and point out raw chicken manure as one of the infections 3 sources. 4 5
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