Distribution of variation over populations

Understanding the significance of the distribution of genetic or phenotypic variation over populations is one of the central concerns of population genetic and ecological research. The import of the research decisively depends on the measures that are applied to assess the amount of variation residing within and between populations. Common approaches can be classified under two perspectives: differentiation and apportionment. While the former focuses on differences (distances) in trait distribution between populations, the latter considers the division of the overall trait variation among populations. Particularly when multiple populations are studied, the apportionment perspective is usually given preference (via FST/GST indices), even though the other perspective is also relevant. The differences between the two perspectives as well as their joint conceptual basis can be exposed by referring them to the association between trait states and population affiliations. It is demonstrated that the two directions, association of population affiliation with trait state and of trait state with population affiliation, reflect the differentiation and the apportionment perspective, respectively. When combining both perspectives and applying the suggested measure of association, new and efficient methods of analysis result, as is outlined for population genetic processes. In conclusion, the association approach to an analysis of the distribution of trait variation over populations resolves problems that are frequently encountered with the apportionment perspective and its commonly applied measures in both population genetics and ecology, suggesting new and more comprehensive methods of analysis that include patterns of differentiation and apportionment.

[1]  S. Wright.  Evolution and the Genetics of Populations, Volume 3: Experimental Results and Evolutionary Deductions , 1977 .

[2]  Mark Vellend,et al.  Do commonly used indices of β‐diversity measure species turnover? , 2001 .

[3]  Sewall Wright,et al.  Variability within and among natural populations , 1978 .

[4]  A. König,et al.  Problems in the Analysis of Genetic Differentiation Among Populations – a Case Study in Quercus robur , 2007 .

[5]  R. N. Curnow,et al.  Evolution and the Genetics of Populations, Volume 4: Variability Within and Among Natural Populations , 1978 .

[6]  B. Charlesworth.  Measures of divergence between populations and the effect of forces that reduce variability. , 1998, Molecular biology and evolution.

[7]  Rama S. Singh,et al.  Evolutionary Genetics: From Molecules to Morphology , 2009 .

[8]  L. Jost.  Entropy and diversity , 2006 .

[9]  Measuring Association Between Two Traits , 1998 .

[10]  Pierre Taberlet,et al.  Landscape genetics: combining landscape ecology and population genetics , 2003 .

[11]  N. V. Joshi,et al.  Evolutionary genetics: From molecules to morphology , 2000, Journal of Genetics.

[12]  S. Wright,et al.  Evolution of the Genetics of Populations, Vol. 2. The Theory of Gene Frequencies , 1971 .

[13]  W. G. Hill,et al.  Genetic Data Analysis II . By Bruce S. Weir, Sunderland, Massachusetts. Sinauer Associates, Inc.445 pages. ISBN 0-87893-902-4. , 1996 .

[14]  J. Roberds,et al.  Measurement of genetical differentiation among subpopulations , 1986, Theoretical and Applied Genetics.

[15]  J. Ott.  Genetic data analysis II , 1997 .

[16]  R. Hudson,et al.  A new statistic for detecting genetic differentiation. , 2000, Genetics.

[17]  P. Hedrick.  A STANDARDIZED GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION MEASURE , 2005, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[18]  S. Wright,et al.  Evolution and the Genetics of Populations: Volume 2, The Theory of Gene Frequencies , 1968 .

[19]  Sewall Wright,et al.  The theory of gene frequencies , 1969 .

[20]  B. Charlesworth,et al.  The effects of local selection, balanced polymorphism and background selection on equilibrium patterns of genetic diversity in subdivided populations. , 1997, Genetical research.

[21]  H. Gregorius,et al.  Generalized Simpson-diversity , 2008 .

[22]  Calyampudi R. Rao.  Diversity and dissimilarity coefficients: A unified approach☆ , 1982 .

[23]  M. Nei.  Analysis of gene diversity in subdivided populations. , 1973, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.