Modern Developments in Theoretical Population Genetics

Modern Developments in Theoretical Population Genetics PDF Author: Montgomery Slatkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780198599630
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book contains chapters by leading population genetics that summarize many of the recent developments in population genetics theory and its application to genetic data. The book was inspired by a meeting in honour of the late French population geneticist, Gustave Malecot, held at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France, in the summer of 1999. Malecot was, along with R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, and S. Wright, among the founders of theoretical population genetics. The meeting demonstrated both the great interest in Malecot's work and its relevance to the recent development of the theory of coalescents and the application of that theory to genetic variation observed at the level of DNA sequence. The introductory papers in the book review Malecot's life and his contributions to the theory of population genetics. Later chapters present recent developments in population genetics with particular emphasis on the theory of coalescents. They include discussions of methods for inferring past changes in population size and patterns of genetic exchange, for inferring the ages of individual mutations, and for analysing the relationships among closely linked genes.

Modern Developments in Theoretical Population Genetics

Modern Developments in Theoretical Population Genetics PDF Author: Montgomery Slatkin
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 9780198599630
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book contains chapters by leading population genetics that summarize many of the recent developments in population genetics theory and its application to genetic data. The book was inspired by a meeting in honour of the late French population geneticist, Gustave Malecot, held at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, France, in the summer of 1999. Malecot was, along with R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, and S. Wright, among the founders of theoretical population genetics. The meeting demonstrated both the great interest in Malecot's work and its relevance to the recent development of the theory of coalescents and the application of that theory to genetic variation observed at the level of DNA sequence. The introductory papers in the book review Malecot's life and his contributions to the theory of population genetics. Later chapters present recent developments in population genetics with particular emphasis on the theory of coalescents. They include discussions of methods for inferring past changes in population size and patterns of genetic exchange, for inferring the ages of individual mutations, and for analysing the relationships among closely linked genes.

The Origins of Theoretical Population Genetics

The Origins of Theoretical Population Genetics PDF Author: William B. Provine
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022678892X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Get Book Here

Book Description
Tracing the development of population genetics through the writings of such luminaries as Darwin, Galton, Pearson, Fisher, Haldane, and Wright, William B. Provine sheds light on this complex field as well as its bearing on other branches of biology.

Theoretical Population Genetics

Theoretical Population Genetics PDF Author: J.S. Gale
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400903871
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

Get Book Here

Book Description
The rise of the neutral theory of molecular evolution seems to have aroused a renewed interest in mathematical population genetics among biologists, who are primarily experimenters rather than theoreticians. This has encouraged me to set out the mathematics of the evolutionary process in a manner that, I hope, will be comprehensible to those with only a basic knowledge of calculus and matrix algebra. I must acknowledge from the start my great debt to my students. Equipped initially with rather limited mathematics, they have pursued the subject with much enthusiasm and success. This has enabled me to try a number of different approaches over the years. I was particularly grateful to Dr L. J. Eaves and Professor W. E. Nance for the opportunity to give a one-semester course at the Medical College of Virginia, and I would like to thank them, their colleagues and their students for the many kindnesses shown to me during my visit. I have concentrated almost entirely on stochastic topics, since these cause the greatest problems for non-mathematicians. The latter are particularly concerned with the range of validity of formulae. A sense of confidence in applying these formulae is, almost certainly, best gained by following their derivation. I have set out proofs in fair detail, since, in my experience, minor points of algebraic manipulation occasionally cause problems. To avoid loss of continuity, I have sometimes put material in notes at the end of chapters.

Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory

Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory PDF Author: Alan R. Templeton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470047216
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 720

Get Book Here

Book Description
The advances made possible by the development of molecular techniques have in recent years revolutionized quantitative genetics and its relevance for population genetics. Population Genetics and Microevolutionary Theory takes a modern approach to population genetics, incorporating modern molecular biology, species-level evolutionary biology, and a thorough acknowledgment of quantitative genetics as the theoretical basis for population genetics. Logically organized into three main sections on population structure and history, genotype-phenotype interactions, and selection/adaptation Extensive use of real examples to illustrate concepts Written in a clear and accessible manner and devoid of complex mathematical equations Includes the author's introduction to background material as well as a conclusion for a handy overview of the field and its modern applications Each chapter ends with a set of review questions and answers Offers helpful general references and Internet links

Challenging the Modern Synthesis

Challenging the Modern Synthesis PDF Author: Philippe Huneman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199377170
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since its origin in the early 20th century, the Modern Synthesis theory of evolution has grown to become the orthodox view on the process of organic evolution. Its central defining feature is the prominence it accords to genes in the explanation of evolutionary dynamics. Since the advent of the 21st century, however, the Modern Synthesis has been subject to repeated and sustained challenges. These are largely empirically driven. In the last two decades, evolutionary biology has witnessed unprecedented growth in the understanding of those processes that underwrite the development of organisms and the inheritance of characters. The empirical advances usher in challenges to the conceptual foundations of evolutionary theory. The extent to which the new biology challenges the Modern Synthesis has been the subject of lively debate. Many current commentators charge that the new biology of the 21st century calls for a revision, extension, or wholesale rejection of the Modern Synthesis Theory of evolution. Defenders of the Modern Synthesis maintain that the theory can accommodate the exciting new advances in biology. The original essays collected in this volume survey the various challenges to the Modern Synthesis arising from the new biology of the 21st century. The authors are evolutionary biologists, philosophers of science, and historians of biology from Europe and North America. Each of the essays discusses a particular challenge to the Modern Synthesis treatment of inheritance, development, or adaptation. Taken together, the essays cover a spectrum of views, from those that contend that the Modern Synthesis can rise to the challenges of the new biology, with little or no revision required, to those that call for the abandonment of the Modern Synthesis. The collection will be of interest to researchers and students in evolutionary biology, and the philosophy and history of the biological sciences.

Population Genetics, Molecular Evolution, and the Neutral Theory

Population Genetics, Molecular Evolution, and the Neutral Theory PDF Author: Motoo Kimura
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226435633
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 736

Get Book Here

Book Description
One of this century's leading evolutionary biologists, Motoo Kimura revolutionized the field with his random drift theory of molecular evolution—the neutral theory—and his groundbreaking theoretical work in population genetics. This volume collects 57 of Kimura's most important papers and covers forty years of his diverse and original contributions to our understanding of how genetic variation affects evolutionary change. Kimura's neutral theory, first presented in 1968, challenged the notion that natural selection was the sole directive force in evolution. Arguing that mutations and random drift account for variations at the level of DNA and amino acids, Kimura advanced a theory of evolutionary change that was strongly challenged at first and that eventually earned the respect and interest of evolutionary biologists throughout the world. This volume includes the seminal papers on the neutral theory, as well as many others that cover such topics as population structure, variable selection intensity, the genetics of quantitative characters, inbreeding systems, and reversibility of changes by random drift. Background essays by Naoyuki Takahata examine Kimura's work in relation to its effects and recent developments in each area.

The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution

The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution PDF Author: Motoo Kimura
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139935674
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388

Get Book Here

Book Description
Motoo Kimura, as founder of the neutral theory, is uniquely placed to write this book. He first proposed the theory in 1968 to explain the unexpectedly high rate of evolutionary change and very large amount of intraspecific variability at the molecular level that had been uncovered by new techniques in molecular biology. The theory - which asserts that the great majority of evolutionary changes at the molecular level are caused not by Darwinian selection but by random drift of selectively neutral mutants - has caused controversy ever since. This book is the first comprehensive treatment of this subject and the author synthesises a wealth of material - ranging from a historical perspective, through recent molecular discoveries, to sophisticated mathematical arguments - all presented in a most lucid manner.

Coalescent Theory

Coalescent Theory PDF Author: John Wakely
Publisher: Roberts
ISBN: 9780974707754
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
This textbook provides the foundation for molecular population genetics and genomics. It shows the conceptual framework for studies of DNA sequence variation within species, and is the source of essential tools for making inferences about mutation, recombination, population structure and natural selection from DNA sequence data.

Genetics of Adaptation

Genetics of Adaptation PDF Author: Rodney Mauricio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402038364
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Get Book Here

Book Description
An enduring controversy in evolutionary biology is the genetic basis of adaptation. Darwin emphasized "many slight differences" as the ultimate source of variation to be acted upon by natural selection. In the early 1900’s, this view was opposed by "Mendelian geneticists", who emphasized the importance of "macromutations" in evolution. The Modern Synthesis resolved this controversy, concluding that mutations in genes of very small effect were responsible for adaptive evolution. A decade ago, Allen Orr and Jerry Coyne reexamined the evidence for this neo-Darwinian view and found that both the theoretical and empirical basis for it were weak. Orr and Coyne encouraged evolutionary biologists to reexamine this neglected question: what is the genetic basis of adaptive evolution? In this volume, a new generation of biologists have taken up this challenge. Using advances in both molecular genetic and statistical techniques, evolutionary geneticists have made considerable progress in this emerging field. In this volume, a diversity of examples from plant and animal studies provides valuable information for those interested in the genetics and evolution of complex traits.

An Introduction to Population Genetics

An Introduction to Population Genetics PDF Author: Rasmus Nielsen
Publisher: Sinauer
ISBN: 9781605351537
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book covers both classical population genetics theory developed in terms of allele and haplotype frequencies and modern population genetics theory developed in terms of coalescent theory. It features applications of theory to problems that arise in the study of human and other populations and assumes little prior knowledge of mathematics.