Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Diversity in Mammals: A Correlation between the Effective and Census Population Sizes.

ABSTRACT: What determines the level of genetic diversity of a species remains one of the enduring problems of population genetics. Because neutral diversity depends upon the product of the effective population size and mutation rate, there is an expectation that diversity should be correlated to measures of census population size. This correlation is often observed for nuclear but not for mitochondrial DNA. Here, we revisit the question of whether mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity is correlated to census population size by compiling the largest data set to date, using 639 mammalian species. In a multiple regression, we find that nucleotide diversity is significantly correlated to both range size and mass-specific metabolic rate, but not a variety of other factors. We also find that a measure of t

SUBMITTER: James J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7719226 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature