Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Genetic Screens02:46

Genetic Screens

5.4K
Genetic screens are tools used to identify genes and mutations responsible for phenotypes of interest. Genetic screens help identify individuals or a group of people at risk of developing  genetic diseases and help them with early intervention, targeted therapy, and reproductive options.
Forward genetic screens
Forward or “classical” genetic screens involve creating random mutations in an organism’s DNA using radiation, mutagens, or insertion of additional bases, which...
5.4K
Test Cross01:39

Test Cross

43.5K
Alleles are different forms of the same gene. Humans and other diploid organisms inherit two alleles of every gene, one from each parent.
43.5K
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

22.8K
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
22.8K
Dihybrid Crosses01:18

Dihybrid Crosses

80.2K
Overview
80.2K
Monohybrid Crosses01:20

Monohybrid Crosses

238.1K
Overview
238.1K
Trihybrid Crosses02:27

Trihybrid Crosses

24.9K
Trihybrid Crosses
Some of Mendel’s crosses examined three pairs of contrasting characteristics. Such a cross is called a trihybrid cross. A trihybrid cross is a combination of three individual monohybrid crosses. For example, plant height (tall vs. short), seed shape (round vs. wrinkled), and seed color (yellow vs. green).
The F1 generation plants of a trihybrid cross are heterozygous for all three traits and produce eight gametes. Upon self-fertilization, these gametes have an equal...
24.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Adaptive loss of function accelerated the evolution of ancient and modern human cognition.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

In silico genome transplants and the cis-regulatory basis of biodiversity.

Trends in genetics : TIG·2025
Same author

A General Principle of Neuronal Evolution Reveals a Human-Accelerated Neuron Type Potentially Underlying the High Prevalence of Autism in Humans.

Molecular biology and evolution·2025
Same author

Disentangling cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic factors underlying evolution.

Cell genomics·2025
Same author

Massively parallel interrogation of the fitness of natural variants in ancient signaling pathways reveals pervasive local adaptation.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2024
Same author

A general principle of neuronal evolution reveals a human-accelerated neuron type potentially underlying the high prevalence of autism in humans.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2024
Same journal

Tau protein as a regulator of mitochondrial function and dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

A scalable, dividing cell model for the robust propagation and quantification of human sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease prions.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Epigenetic regulation of mesenchymal BMP signaling directs postnatal organ innervation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Single-shot wide-field biochemical imaging at 1 kHz frame rate.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Morphogenesis and topological evolution of a frustrated nematic liquid crystal under confinement.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

B cell-intrinsic CXCR3 drives efficient generation of ectopic pulmonary germinal center responses to influenza A virus infection.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Frequency and Distribution of Crossovers in Caenorhabditis elegans Meiosis by SNP Genotyping using Real-time PCR
06:18

Frequency and Distribution of Crossovers in Caenorhabditis elegans Meiosis by SNP Genotyping using Real-time PCR

Published on: July 11, 2025

645

Detecting selection with a genetic cross.

Hunter B Fraser1

  • 1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 hbfraser@stanford.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 28, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Detecting evolutionary natural selection is crucial. A new method uses minimal phenotypic data to powerfully identify selection, outperforming existing tests and applicable across diverse biological data.

Keywords:
evolutiongenetic crossnatural selectionvariance

More Related Videos

Cell Surface Receptor Identification Using Genome-Scale CRISPR/Cas9 Genetic Screens
08:49

Cell Surface Receptor Identification Using Genome-Scale CRISPR/Cas9 Genetic Screens

Published on: June 6, 2020

15.1K
Selection-dependent and Independent Generation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Gene Knockouts in Mammalian Cells
11:35

Selection-dependent and Independent Generation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Gene Knockouts in Mammalian Cells

Published on: June 16, 2017

13.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Frequency and Distribution of Crossovers in Caenorhabditis elegans Meiosis by SNP Genotyping using Real-time PCR
06:18

Frequency and Distribution of Crossovers in Caenorhabditis elegans Meiosis by SNP Genotyping using Real-time PCR

Published on: July 11, 2025

645
Cell Surface Receptor Identification Using Genome-Scale CRISPR/Cas9 Genetic Screens
08:49

Cell Surface Receptor Identification Using Genome-Scale CRISPR/Cas9 Genetic Screens

Published on: June 6, 2020

15.1K
Selection-dependent and Independent Generation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Gene Knockouts in Mammalian Cells
11:35

Selection-dependent and Independent Generation of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Gene Knockouts in Mammalian Cells

Published on: June 16, 2017

13.1K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Quantitative genetics

Background:

  • Distinguishing traits evolved under natural selection versus neutral evolution is a key challenge.
  • Existing tests for detecting selection often rely on flawed assumptions or lack statistical power.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Introduce a novel, assumption-light approach for detecting natural selection using only phenotypic data.
  • Compare the power and efficiency of the new test against existing methods like the QTL sign test.

Main Methods:

  • Develop a test comparing phenotypic differences between populations to neutral expectations derived from F2 crosses.
  • Utilize simulations to assess test robustness across various genetic and phenotypic parameters.
  • Apply the test to empirical data from crops, natural populations (Drosophila, humans), and gene expression data.

Main Results:

  • The new test demonstrates robustness to factors like locus number, effect size distribution, heritability, dominance, and epistasis.
  • Achieves comparable power to the QTL sign test with significantly fewer individuals and without requiring genotype data.
  • Identifies strong directional selection in crops and natural traits, and reveals a link between stabilizing selection on mRNA levels and effective population size.

Conclusions:

  • This novel phenotypic test offers a powerful and broadly applicable tool for detecting natural selection.
  • Facilitates easier and more robust detection of selection across diverse genetic crosses and biological data types.
  • Provides new insights into the evolutionary forces shaping traits in various organisms.