Mixtum: a graphical tool for two-way admixture analysis in population genetics based on f-statistics

Area of Science:

• Population Genetics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Estimating ancestry contributions is crucial for understanding population history and genetic diversity.
• Existing methods may lack user-friendliness or robust quality assessment for admixture analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Mixtum, a novel Python-based software for two-way admixture analysis.
• To provide a user-friendly tool with graphical and numerical outputs for ancestry estimation.
• To develop a new index for assessing the quality of ancestral reconstruction.

Main Methods:

• Mixtum utilizes a geometric interpretation of the f-statistics formalism.
• It processes bi-allelic genotype data.
• The software allows interactive model building with user-supplied and auxiliary populations.

Main Results:

• Mixtum provides graphical and numerical results of ancestry estimations.
• A novel angle index is introduced to evaluate the accuracy of ancestral reconstruction.
• Case studies illustrate the application and interpretation of Mixtum's outputs.

Conclusions:

• Mixtum is an efficient and user-friendly tool for estimating ancestry contributions in admixture scenarios.
• The novel angle index offers a valuable metric for assessing model quality in population genetics.
• The software is available as open-source for broader scientific application.