All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.įunding: GG fellowship was supported by the 2010 SIDEER (Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research) Fund for interdisciplinary research. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.ĭata Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. Received: JAccepted: NovemPublished: December 19, 2014Ĭopyright: © 2014 Greenbaum et al. PLoS ONE 9(12):Įditor: Lilach Hadany, Tel Aviv University, Israel This highlights the importance of distinguishing between heterozygosity and allelic richness as measures of genetic diversity, since focusing merely on the preservation of heterozygosity might not be enough to adequately preserve allelic richness, which is crucial for species persistence and evolution.Ĭitation: Greenbaum G, Templeton AR, Zarmi Y, Bar-David S (2014) Allelic Richness following Population Founding Events – A Stochastic Modeling Framework Incorporating Gene Flow and Genetic Drift. Furthermore, the model indicates that the “One Migrant per Generation” rule, a commonly used conservation guideline related to heterozygosity, may be inadequate for addressing preservation of diversity at the allelic level. The model's analysis provides insights into the dynamics of allelic richness following a founder event, taking into account gene flow and the allele frequency spectrum.

A method is discussed that combines the probability of allele presence with a population's allele frequency spectrum to provide predictions for allele recovery. The probability of an allele's presence in the population was identified as the relevant statistical property for a meaningful interpretation of allelic richness. The model follows the dynamics of alleles lost during the founder event and simulates the effect of gene flow on maintenance and recovery of allelic richness. This paper presents a stochastic model for the allelic richness of a newly founded population experiencing genetic drift and gene flow. It is used less commonly than heterozygosity as a genetic diversity measure, partially because it is more mathematically difficult to take into account the stochastic process of genetic drift for allelic richness. Neanderthal gene versions have been linked to immune functions, metabolic functions (e.g., affecting one’s risk of developing diabetes), and even skin color.Allelic richness (number of alleles) is a measure of genetic diversity indicative of a population's long-term potential for adaptability and persistence. Furthermore, this ancient gene flow seems to affect who we are today. It’s clear that ancient humans and Neanderthals interbred, and that this gene flow introduced new genetic variation to the human population. For example, by sequencing ancient DNA, researchers have reconstructed the entire Neanderthal genome – and they’ve found that many snippets of these archaic sequences live on in modern humans. The genetic variation in modern human populations has been critically shaped by gene flow. In the graphic below, a beetle carries the gene version for brown coloration from one population to another. If genetic variants are carried to a population where they previously did not exist, gene flow can be an important source of genetic variation. Gene flow includes lots of different kinds of events, such as pollen being blown to a new destination or people moving to new cities or countries. Gene flow - also called migration - is any movement of individuals, and/or the genetic material they carry, from one population to another. Information on controversies in the public arena relating to evolution.Alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards.The big issues – Pacing, diversity, complexity, and trends.Macroevolution – Evolution above the species level.Microevolution – Evolution within a population.Mechanisms: the processes of evolution – Selection, mutation, migration, and more.

The history of life: looking at the patterns – Change over time and shared ancestors.

An introduction to evolution: what is evolution and how does it work?.

Gene flow definition