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Related Concept Videos

What is Population Genetics?01:25

What is Population Genetics?

A population is composed of members of the same species that simultaneously live and interact in the same area. When individuals in a population breed, they pass down their genes to their offspring. Many of these genes are polymorphic, meaning that they occur in multiple variants. Such variations of a gene are referred to as alleles. The collective set of all the alleles within a population is known as the gene pool.While some alleles of a given gene might be observed commonly, other variants...
Hardy-Weinberg Principle01:49

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Diploid organisms have two alleles of each gene, one from each parent, in their somatic cells. Therefore, each individual contributes two alleles to the gene pool of the population. The gene pool of a population is the sum of every allele of all genes within that population and has some degree of variation. Genetic variation is typically expressed as a relative frequency, which is the percentage of the total population that has a given allele, genotype or phenotype.In the early 20th century,...
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).Mechanisms of Genetic VariationThe original sources of genetic variation are mutations,...
Genetic Drift03:33

Genetic Drift

Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.Life is not fair. A deer grazing contentedly in a field can have her meal cut tragically short by a bolt of lightning. If the doomed doe is one of only three in the population, 1/3 of the population’s gene pool is lost. Random events like this can...
Gene Flow02:39

Gene Flow

Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.
Genetic Variation01:25

Genetic Variation

Genetic variation is the diversity in DNA sequences found among individuals of the same species. This diversity is crucial for a species' survival because it helps organisms adapt to environmental changes. Genetic variation begins with fertilization, where an egg and sperm cell merge. Each of these cells carries 23 chromosomes, up to 46 in the fertilized egg. Chromosomes are long DNA strands that contain genes, the basic units of heredity.
Genes exist in different versions called alleles, which...

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Related Experiment Video

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Determining the Likelihood of Variant Pathogenicity Using Amino Acid-level Signal-to-Noise Analysis of Genetic Variation
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Determining the Likelihood of Variant Pathogenicity Using Amino Acid-level Signal-to-Noise Analysis of Genetic Variation

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Neutral additive genetic variance in a metapopulation.

M C Whitlock1

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Genetical Research
|February 26, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Quantitative genetic variance in metapopulations is predictable using effective population size and FST. When QST exceeds FST for neutral loci, it indicates divergent selection.

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Area of Science:

  • Population genetics
  • Quantitative genetics
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Additive genetic variance structures metapopulations.
  • Coalescent theory aids in predicting quantitative genetic variance.
  • Understanding genetic variance is key to evolutionary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To predict the amount and structure of additive genetic variance in subdivided populations.
  • To relate single-locus population genetic measures to quantitative genetic processes.
  • To establish a framework for detecting selection in quantitative traits.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing coalescent theory and population genetic principles.
  • Deriving formulas for total, within-population, and among-population additive genetic variance.
  • Comparing the quantitative genetic differentiation index (QST) with Wright's FST.

Main Results:

  • Formulas derived for additive genetic variance: total (2Neσm²(1+FST)), within-population (2Neσe²(1-FST)), and among-demes (4FSTNeσm²).
  • Demonstrated that QST generally equals FST for neutral additive models.
  • Established a theoretical link between neutral genetic structure and quantitative trait variation.

Conclusions:

  • Additive genetic variance in metapopulations can be accurately predicted from population structure (FST) and size (Ne).
  • A QST value greater than FST for neutral loci is a robust indicator of spatially divergent natural selection.
  • These findings provide a powerful tool for inferring evolutionary processes acting on quantitative traits.