Positive selection on immune alleles by the Black Death…and continuing benefits and costs

A fascinating article in Nature finds positive selection for several alleles that protected against Yersinia pestis during the plague of 1346-1350 in Europe; they also increase the risk of autoimmune disease. Klunk, J., et al. (2022). Evolution of immune genes is associated with the Black Death. Nature, 611(7935), 312–319. The staggering selection pressures of infectious […]