Identifying Copy Number Variants under Selection in Geographically Structured Populations Based on F-statistics

Large-scale copy number variants (CNVs) in the human provide the raw material for delineating population differences, as natural selection may have affected at least some of the CNVs thus far discovered. Although the examination of relatively large numbers of specific ethnic groups has recently started in regard to inter-ethnic group differences in CNVs, identifying and understanding particular instances of natural selection have not been performed. The traditional F(ST) measure, obtained from differences in allele frequencies between populations, has been used to identify CNVs loci subject to geographically varying selection. Here, we review advances and the application of multinomial-Dirichlet likelihood methods of inference for identifying genome regions that have been subject to natural selection with the F(ST) estimates. The contents of presentation are not new; however, this review clarifies how the application of the methods to CNV data, which remains largely unexplored, is possible. A hierarchical Bayesian method, which is implemented via Markov Chain Monte Carlo, estimates locus-specific F(ST) and can identify outlying CNVs loci with large values of F(ST). By applying this Bayesian method to the publicly available CNV data, we identified the CNV loci that show signals of natural selection, which may elucidate the genetic basis of human disease and diversity.