THEORETICAL STUDIES IN ECOLOGICAL & POPULATION GENETICS

生态学理论研究

• 批准号: 2908554
• 负责人: Marjorie A. ASMUSSEN
• 金额: $ 17.13万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1993
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1993-01-01 至 2003-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2908554
• 关键词: animal data; animal population genetics; biochemical evolution; ecology; experimental designs; gene frequency; genetic markers; genetic models; human data; human population genetics; mathematical model; model design /development; natural selections; statistics /biometry

Multi-genomic data provide an unprecedented opportunity to study many critical evolutionary processes in human and other populations. A particularly striking example is provided by the increasing use of joint nuclear-cytoplasmic data, where an individual's nuclear genes are inherited through both parents, while their cytoplasmically-housed genes, such as those in their mitochondria, are usually inherited solely through the mother. As a result of this asymmetrical inheritance, a population's joint nuclear-cytoplasmic makeup encodes invaluable information about many important processes that are not accessible by traditional means. Such data provide, for instance, the first effective way to study the distinctive patterns of assortative mating, selection, and migration within zones of genetic admixture between two populations, as well as the many gender-specific processes that shape the evolution of human and other animal populations. However, much of this vital biological information remains untapped due to the lack of adequate theory. The major long-term goal of this research is to develop the mathematical and statistical frameworks needed to fully exploit the immense evolutionary value of joint cytonuclear data. One specific aim is to identify the best method for detecting and estimating differential gene flow by males and females, which will allow unprecedented insight into human migrations. This will be achieved by developing a series of theoretical models to assess the utility of recent data involving novel combinations of cytoplasmic, autosomal and sex-linked marker. A second major goal is to provide the first formal cytonuclear guidelines for inferring the possible evolutionary processes in spatially structured populations, and the potential causes of the differential introgression often shown by autosomal, sex-linked, and cytoplasmic markers across such regions. The final major aim is to develop theory to understand the evolutionary implications of intriguing new forms of cytonuclear selection, including those in human mitochondrial diseases, where nuclear genes can trigger the mitochondrial mutations associated with the disease. Together, the results will allow empirical researchers to exploit standard cytonuclear systems with autosomal nuclear markers in exciting new ways, as well as to extract the unprecedented evolutionary information provided by cytonuclear systems with sex-linked markers. In addition, the general cytonuclear framework developed here has broad applicability to many other important biological systems, ranging from the evolution of mobile element suppressors to the coevolution of host-pathogen systems.

多基因组数据为研究人类和其他群体的许多关键进化过程提供了前所未有的机会。 一个特别引人注目的例子是越来越多地使用联合核-细胞质数据，其中个体的核基因通过父母双方遗传，而其细胞质内的基因，例如线粒体中的基因，通常仅通过母亲遗传。由于这种不对称遗传，一个群体的核-细胞质联合组成编码了许多重要过程的宝贵信息，而这些信息是通过传统手段无法获得的。 例如，这些数据提供了第一个有效的方法来研究两个种群之间遗传混合区域内选型交配、选择和迁移的独特模式，以及塑造人类和其他动物种群进化的许多性别特异性过程。 然而，由于缺乏足够的理论，许多重要的生物信息仍未得到开发。这项研究的主要长期目标是开发充分利用联合细胞核数据的巨大进化价值所需的数学和统计框架。 其中一个具体目标是确定检测和估计男性和女性差异基因流的最佳方法，这将使人们对人类迁徙有前所未有的了解。 这将通过开发一系列理论模型来评估涉及细胞质、常染色体和性别连锁标记的新组合的最新数据的效用来实现。 第二个主要目标是提供第一个正式的细胞核指南，用于推断空间结构群体中可能的进化过程，以及这些区域的常染色体、性别连锁和细胞质标记通常显示的差异渗入的潜在原因。 最终的主要目标是发展理论来理解有趣的新形式的细胞核选择的进化意义，包括人类线粒体疾病中的细胞核选择，其中核基因可以触发与疾病相关的线粒体突变。总之，这些结果将使实证研究人员能够以令人兴奋的新方式利用具有常染色体核标记的标准细胞核系统，并提取具有性别连锁标记的细胞核系统提供的前所未有的进化信息。 此外，这里开发的通用细胞核框架对许多其他重要的生物系统具有广泛的适用性，从移动元件抑制器的进化到宿主病原体系统的共同进化。