The Effect of Balancing Selection on Population Differentiation: A Study with HLA Genes.

ABSTRACT: Balancing selection is defined as a class of selective regimes that maintain polymorphism above what is expected under neutrality. Theory predicts that balancing selection reduces population differentiation, as measured by FST. However, balancing selection regimes in which different sets of alleles are maintained in different populations could increase population differentiation. To tackle the connection between balancing selection and population differentiation, we investigated population differentiation at the HLA genes, which constitute the most striking example of balancing selection in humans. We found that population differentiation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the HLA genes is on average lower than that of SNPs in other genomic regions. We show that these results req

SUBMITTER: Brandt DYC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6071603 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature