Understanding Past Population Dynamics: Bayesian Coalescent-Based Modeling with Covariates.

ABSTRACT: Effective population size characterizes the genetic variability in a population and is a parameter of paramount importance in population genetics and evolutionary biology. Kingman's coalescent process enables inference of past population dynamics directly from molecular sequence data, and researchers have developed a number of flexible coalescent-based models for Bayesian nonparametric estimation of the effective population size as a function of time. Major goals of demographic reconstruction include identifying driving factors of effective population size, and understanding the association between the effective population size and such factors. Building upon Bayesian nonparametric coalescent-based approaches, we introduce a flexible framework that incorporates time-varying covariates that

SUBMITTER: Gill MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5066065 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature