THEORETICAL STUDIES IN ECOLOGICAL & POPULATION GENETICS

多基因组数据为研究人类和其他种群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，其中一个个体的核基因是通过父母双方遗传的，而他们的细胞质内的基因，如线粒体中的基因，通常只通过母亲遗传。由于这种不对称的遗传，一个种群的核细胞质联合组成编码了许多重要过程的宝贵信息，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种有效的方法来研究两个种群之间遗传混合区域内的分类交配、选择和迁移的独特模式，以及许多塑造人类和其他动物种群进化的性别特定过程。然而，由于缺乏足够的理论，许多重要的生物学信息仍未被开发。这项研究的主要长期目标是发展数学和统计框架，以充分利用联合细胞核数据的巨大进化价值。一个具体的目标是确定检测和估计男性和女性差异基因流动的最佳方法，这将使我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，以及通常由常染色体、性别连锁和细胞质标记在这些区域中显示的差异渗入的潜在原因。最后一个主要目标是发展理论，以理解有趣的新形式的细胞核选择的进化含义，包括那些在人类线粒体疾病中，核基因可以触发与疾病相关的线粒体突变。总之，这些结果将使经验研究人员能够以令人兴奋的新方式利用带有常染色体核标记的标准细胞核系统，并提取带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，这里发展的一般细胞核框架也广泛适用于许多其他重要的生物系统，从移动元件抑制因子的进化到宿主-病原体系统的共同进化。

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.