Genetic Drift Versus Genetic Draft in Holarctic Ducks: Is the Assumption of Selective Neutrality Violated by Non-coding Nuclear DNA?

使用DNA序列来研究人口历史越来越受欢迎，但许多方法都假设所研究的DNA不受自然选择的影响。因此，科学家们经常关注那些不编码蛋白质的DNA，这些DNA被认为不受自然选择的影响。然而，这种假设可能是错误的。该项目将研究选择对非编码DNA的影响，并评估各种方法对该问题的敏感性。从六个共分布的全北极鸭种中取样的20个独立DNA区域的序列将与没有选择的模拟数据进行比较。由于非编码DNA通常用于确定保护和管理重点，研究物种对气候变化的反应，以及了解生态和自然历史，因此该研究的结果将具有广泛的适用性。此外，这六种鸟类有环极地分布，我们的项目包括许多来自北极阿拉斯加和俄罗斯的鸟类。结果将为审查对不断变化的环境的反应提供基线数据；例如，气候变化可能导致一种物种的减少和两种物种的扩张。最后，该项目将为博士后培训、本科研究、中等教育推广以及扩大美俄科学家之间的长期合作提供机会。

Using DNA sequences to study population history is growing in popularity, but many methods assume the DNA studied is not influenced by natural selection. Thus, scientists often focus on DNA that does not code for proteins and is assumed to be free from selection. However, this assumption may be faulty. This project will examine the influence of selection on non-coding DNA and will evaluate the sensitivity of various methods to this problem. Sequences from twenty independent regions of DNA sampled from six co-distributed species of Holarctic ducks will be compared to data simulated without selection.Results from this study will be broadly applicable, as non-coding DNA is often used for setting conservation and management priorities, studying species' responses to climate change, and understanding ecology and natural history. Also, the six species have a circumpolar distribution, and our project includes many birds from Arctic Alaska and Russia. Results will provide baseline data for examining responses to changing environments; for example, climate change may be contributing to the decline of one species and the expansion of two. Finally, this project will provide opportunities for postdoctoral training, undergraduate research, secondary education outreach, and expansion of a long-term collaboration between US and Russian scientists.