The estimates of effective population size based on linkage disequilibrium are virtually unaffected by natural selection.

ABSTRACT: The effective population size (Ne) is a key parameter to quantify the magnitude of genetic drift and inbreeding, with important implications in human evolution. The increasing availability of high-density genetic markers allows the estimation of historical changes in Ne across time using measures of genome diversity or linkage disequilibrium between markers. Directional selection is expected to reduce diversity and Ne, and this reduction is modulated by the heterogeneity of the genome in terms of recombination rate. Here we investigate by computer simulations the consequences of selection (both positive and negative) and recombination rate heterogeneity in the estimation of historical Ne. We also investigate the relationship between diversity parameters and Ne across the different regions

SUBMITTER: Novo I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8815936 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature