A Primer Of Population Genetics And Genomics

A Primer of Population Genetics and Genomics has been completely revised and updated to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts of population genetics and genomics. Recent textbooks have tended to focus on such specialized topics as the coalescent, molecular evolution, human population genetics, or genomics. This primer bucks that trend by encouraging a broader familiarity with, and understanding of, population genetics and genomics as a whole. The overview ranges from mating systems through the causes of evolution, molecular population genetics, and the genomics of complex traits. Interwoven are discussions of ancient DNA, gene drive, landscape genetics, identifying risk factors for complex diseases, the genomics of adaptation and speciation, and other active areas of current research. The principles are illuminated by numerous examples from a wide variety of animals, plants, microbes, and human populations. The approach also emphasizes learning by doing, which in this case means solving numerical or conceptual problems. The rationale behind this is that the use of concepts in problem-solving lead to deeper understanding and longer knowledge retention. This accessible, introductory textbook is aimed principally at students of various levels and abilities (from senior undergraduate to postgraduate) as well as practising scientists in the fields of population genetics, ecology, evolutionary biology, computational biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, physics, and mathematics.

What are the genomic signatures of adaptations in DNA? How often does natural selection dictate changes to DNA? How does the ebb and flow in the abundance of individuals over time get marked onto chromosomes to record genetic history? Molecular population genetics seeks to answer such questions by explaining genetic variation and molecular evolution from micro-evolutionary principles. It provides a way to learn about how evolution works and how it shapes species by incorporating molecular details of DNA as the heritable material. It enables us to understand the logic of how mutations originate, change in abundance in populations, and become fixed as DNA sequence divergence between species. With the revolutionary advances in genomic data acquisition, understanding molecular population genetics is now a fundamental requirement for today's life scientists. These concepts apply in analysis of personal genomics, genome-wide association studies, landscape and conservation genetics, forensics, molecular anthropology, and selection scans. This book introduces, in an accessible way, the bare essentials of the theory and practice of molecular population genetics.

The use of molecular methods to study genetic polymorphisms has made a familiarity with population genetics essential for any biologist whose work is at the population level. A Primer of Population Genetics, Third Edition provides a concise but comprehensive introduction to population genetics. The four chapters of the book address genetic variation, the causes of evolution, molecular population genetics, and the genetic architecture of complex traits. Chapter-end problems reinforce ideas and, while there are some equations, the emphasis is on explanation rather than derivation.

This accessible primer has been completely revised and updated to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to the basic concepts of population genetics and genomics.

This book covers basic concepts in population and quantitative genetics, including measuring selection on phenotypic traits. The emphasis is on material applicable to field studies of evolution focusing on ecologically important traits. Topics addressed are critical for training students in ecology, evolution, conservation biology, agriculture, forestry, and wildlife management. Many texts in this field are too complex and mathematical to allow the average beginning student to readily grasp the key concepts. A Primer of Ecological Genetics, in contrast, employs mathematics and statistics-fully explained, but at a less advanced level-as tools to improve understanding of biological principles. The main goal is to enable students to understand the concepts well enough that they can gain entry into the primary literature. Integration of the different chapters of the book shows students how diverse concepts relate to each other.

This edition provides a balanced presentation of theory and observation. It introduces the principles of genetics and statistics that are relevant to population studies, and examines the forces affecting genetic variation from the molecular to the organismic level.

Darwinian evolution in mendelian populations. Random genetic drift. Mutation and the neutral theory. Natural selection. Inbreeding and other forms of nonrandom mating. Population subdivision and migration. Molecular population genetics. Evolutionary genetics of quantitative characters. Ecological genetics and speciation.

Published by Sinauer Associates, an imprint of Oxford University Press. Provides descriptions of the methods and tools used in molecular population genetics, which has combined advances in molecular biology and genomics with mathematical and empirical findings to uncover the history of natural selection and demographic shifts in many organisms.