ConStruct: New tool for examining genetic structure in populations

Angela

Elite member
Messages
21,823
Reaction score
12,327
Points
113
Ethnic group
Italian
More great work from Graham Coop:

See:
[FONT=&quot]Gideon S. Bradburd[/FONT][FONT=&quot], [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=hwicons !important][/FONT] View ORCID ProfileGraham M. Coop[/FONT][FONT=&quot] and [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=hwicons !important][/FONT] View ORCID ProfilePeter L. Ralph

"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Inferring Continuous and Discrete Population Genetic Structure Across Space"
[/FONT]
http://www.genetics.org/content/210/1/33

"ABSTRACT A classic problem in population genetics is the characterization of discrete population structure in the presence ofcontinuous patterns of genetic differentiation. Especially when sampling is discontinuous, the use of clustering or assignmentmethods may incorrectly ascribe differentiation due to continuous processes (e.g., geographic isolation by distance) to discreteprocesses, such as geographic, ecological, or reproductive barriers between populations. This reflects a shortcoming of currentmethods for inferring and visualizing population structure when applied to genetic data deriving from geographically distributedpopulations. Here, we present a statistical framework for the simultaneous inference of continuous and discrete patterns ofpopulation structure. The method estimates ancestry proportions for each sample from a set of two-dimensional populationlayers, and, within each layer, estimates a rate at which relatedness decays with distance. This thereby explicitly addressesthe “clines versus clusters" problem in modeling population genetic variation, and remedies some of the overfitting to whichnonspatial models are prone. The method produces useful descriptions of structure in genetic relatedness in situations whereseparated, geographically distributed populations interact, as after a range expansion or secondary contact. We demonstratethe utility of this approach using simulations and by applying it to empirical datasets of poplars and black bears in North America."
 
Do you mind translating this into layman?
 
I don't recall seeing this tool referenced in any study since that publication. Has it been used for any study that has suddenly brought to light information not already known or data that couldn't be determined from other tools?
 
It's been cited 160 times, not always in human population studies, but of course, genetics and the mathematics used to interpret genomes has a lot of cross-application. You're welcome to scroll through all 160 papers.

Inferring continuous and discrete population genetic structure across space

GS Bradburd, GM Coop, PL Ralph - Genetics, 2018 - academic.oup.com
An important step in the analysis of genetic data is to describe and categorize natural
variation. Individuals that live close together are, on average, more genetically similar than
individuals sampled farther apart... A classic problem in population genetics is the
characterization of discrete population structure in the presence of continuous patterns of
genetic differentiation. Especially when sampling is discontinuous, the use of clustering or
assignment methods may incorrectly ascribe differentiation due to continuous processes …

Cite Cited by 160 Related articles All 13 versions
 

This thread has been viewed 8650 times.

Back
Top