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

使用DNA序列来研究种群历史越来越流行，但许多方法都假设所研究的DNA不受自然选择的影响。因此，科学家们经常把重点放在不编码蛋白质的DNA上，并且被认为是不受选择的。然而，这种假设可能是错误的。这个项目将研究选择对非编码DNA的影响，并将评估各种方法对这个问题的敏感性。从6个共同分布的物种中采集的20个独立DNA区域的DNA序列将与未经选择的模拟数据进行比较。这项研究的结果将广泛适用，因为非编码DNA经常用于设定保护和管理的优先事项，研究物种对气候变化的反应，以及了解生态学和自然历史。此外，这六个物种分布在环极地，我们的项目包括许多来自北极阿拉斯加和俄罗斯的鸟类。结果将为审查对环境变化的反应提供基线数据；例如，气候变化可能导致一个物种的减少和两个物种的扩大。最后，该项目将为博士后培训、本科生研究、中等教育拓展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.