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Molecular Genetic Variation

About: Molecular Genetic Variation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 45 publications have been published within this topic receiving 18034 citations.

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01 Feb 1987
TL;DR: Recent developments of statistical methods in molecular phylogenetics are reviewed and it is shown that the mathematical foundations of these methods are not well established, but computer simulations and empirical data indicate that currently used methods produce reasonably good phylogenetic trees when a sufficiently large number of nucleotides or amino acids are used.
Abstract: Recent developments of statistical methods in molecular phylogenetics are reviewed. It is shown that the mathematical foundations of these methods are not well established, but computer simulations and empirical data indicate that currently used methods such as neighbor joining, minimum evolution, likelihood, and parsimony methods produce reasonably good phylogenetic trees when a sufficiently large number of nucleotides or amino acids are used. However, when the rate of evolution varies exlensively from branch to branch, many methods may fail to recover the true topology. Solid statistical tests for examining'the accuracy of trees obtained by neighborjoining, minimum evolution, and least-squares method are available, but the methods for likelihood and parsimony trees are yet to be refined. Parsimony, likelihood, and distance methods can all be used for inferring amino acid sequences of the proteins of ancestral organisms that have become extinct.

15,840 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
09 Feb 2012-Nature
TL;DR: The Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel is described, a community resource for analysis of population genomics and quantitative traits, which reveals reduced polymorphism in centromeric autosomal regions and the X chromosomes, evidence for positive and negative selection, and rapid evolution of the X chromosome.
Abstract: A major challenge of biology is understanding the relationship between molecular genetic variation and variation in quantitative traits, including fitness. This relationship determines our ability to predict phenotypes from genotypes and to understand how evolutionary forces shape variation within and between species. Previous efforts to dissect the genotype-phenotype map were based on incomplete genotypic information. Here, we describe the Drosophila melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP), a community resource for analysis of population genomics and quantitative traits. The DGRP consists of fully sequenced inbred lines derived from a natural population. Population genomic analyses reveal reduced polymorphism in centromeric autosomal regions and the X chromosome, evidence for positive and negative selection, and rapid evolution of the X chromosome. Many variants in novel genes, most at low frequency, are associated with quantitative traits and explain a large fraction of the phenotypic variance. The DGRP facilitates genotype-phenotype mapping using the power of Drosophila genetics.

1,568 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review examines the consequences of speciation for patterns of molecular genetic variation within and among populations and considers the following questions.
Abstract: The remarkably rapid growth of molecular genetics during the past two decades and concomitant advances in DNA technology have had an enormous impact in systematic and evolutionary biology (76, 89, 92, 110, 129). The ability to compare DNA sequences (either directly or indirectly) has resulted in a wealth of new, high resolution genetic markers appropriate for defining patterns of variation at all levels in the evolutionary hierarchy. Discoveries in molecular genetics have also fundamentally altered and expanded our understanding of genome structure and dynamics and of patterns and mechanisms of gene regulation. These discoveries, in turn, have fueled speculation about possible implications for evolutionary process (84, 127). In this review I examine the consequences of speciation for patterns of molecular genetic variation within and among populations. I consider the following questions: (i) Does speciation leave a distinctive signature on patterns of molecular genetic variation? If so, can we use variation in DNA sequences (or allozymes) to gain insights into either the geography of speciation or the evolutionary forces that have been operating? (ii) Can we use estimates of genetic distance to make judgments about species status or to date speciation events? Inferring process from pattern in evolutionary biology is notoriously difficult, and the use of molecular genetic variation to illuminate processes of

228 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 2009-Ecology
TL;DR: It is argued that genetic variation within foundation tree species has the potential to be a significant driver of the geographical mosaics of variation typical of forest communities, which could have important ecological and evolutionary implications.
Abstract: Knowledge of the manner in which genetic variation within a tree species affects associated communities and ecosystem processes across its entire range is important for understanding how geographic mosaics of genetic interactions might develop and support different communities. While numerous studies have investigated the community and ecosystem consequences of genetic variation at the hybrid cross type or genotype level within a species, none has investigated the community-level effects of intraspecific genetic variation across the geographic range of a widespread species. This is the scale at which geographic mosaics of coevolution are hypothesized to exist. Studies at this level are particularly important for foundation tree species, which typically support numerous microbial, fungal, plant, and animal communities. We studied genetic variation across eight geographical races of the forest tree Eucalyptus globulus representing its natural distribution across southeastern Australia. The study was conducted in a 15-year-old common garden trial based on families derived from single-tree open-pollinated seed collections from the wild. Neutral molecular genetic variation within E. globulus was also assessed and compared with genetic divergence in the phenotypic and community traits. Three major findings emerged. First, we found significant genetically based, hierarchical variation in associated communities corresponding to geographical races of E. globulus and families within races. Second, divergence in foliar communities at the racial level was associated with genetically based divergence in specific leaf morphological and chemical traits that have known defensive functions. Third, significant positive correlations between canopy community dissimilarity and both neutral molecular genetic and leaf quantitative genetic dissimilarity at the race level supported a genetic similarity rule. Our results argue that genetic variation within foundation tree species has the potential to be a significant driver of the geographical mosaics of variation typical of forest communities, which could have important ecological and evolutionary implications.

139 citations

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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20201
20182
20171
20163
20154
20132