Genetical Theory of Population Divergence and Speciation

这项研究的目标是发展计算机模拟技术和分析方法，利用DNA序列数据来研究种群分化和物种形成。在需要解决的问题中，最重要的是：基因流动在差异中扮演什么角色？基因流动是种群间迁移的结果，其标志在DNA样本中可见。这项工作将生成基于模拟的工具，用于使用两种不同的统计方法分析DNA数据：最大似然法和矩方法。最大似然法最适用于小数据集，矩方法最适用于大数据集。由此产生的计算机程序将提供给经验工作者。生物学是未来的科学，如果我们真的要了解生物系统，历史分析在这里比任何其他科学都更重要。这项工作将为解决关键问题提供一个框架：物种形成是如何发生的？对于物种内的数据，它将使我们能够识别导致种群分化的因素。有许多关于分歧和物种形成的理论，但这些理论从未被检验过，因为DNA序列数据最近才变得可用。这项工作将使生物学家能够从不断增长的DNA序列数据中提取历史信息。

John WakeleyAbstractGenetical Theory of Population Divergence and SpeciationThe goal of this research is to develop computer simulation techniques and analytic methods to study population divergence and speciation using DNA sequence data. Foremost among the questions to be addressed is: what is the role of gene flow in divergence? Gene flow is the result of migration between populations and its mark is visible in DNA samples. This work will generate simulation-based tools for the analysis of DNA data using two different statistical approaches: maximum likelihood and method of moments. Maximum likelihood will work best for small datasets and moment methods will work best for large ones. The resulting computer programs will be made available to empirical workers.Biology is the science of the future and, if we are truly to understand biological systems, historical analyses are more important here than in any other science. This work will provide a framework for resolving the critical question: how has speciation occured? For within-species data, it will allow us to identify the forces that have caused populations to diverge. There are many theories of divergence and speciation, yet these have never been tested because DNA sequence data have only recently become available. This work will allow biologists to extract historical information from the growing stores of DNA sequence data.