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Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients

Selecting among alternative scenarios of human evolution is nowadays a common methodology to investigate the history of our species. This strategy is usually based on computer simulations of genetic data under different evolutionary scenarios, followed by a fitting of the simulated data with the rea...

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Autores principales: Branco, Catarina, Arenas, Miguel
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6210830/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30340387
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes9100506
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author Branco, Catarina
Arenas, Miguel
author_facet Branco, Catarina
Arenas, Miguel
author_sort Branco, Catarina
collection PubMed
description Selecting among alternative scenarios of human evolution is nowadays a common methodology to investigate the history of our species. This strategy is usually based on computer simulations of genetic data under different evolutionary scenarios, followed by a fitting of the simulated data with the real data. A recent trend in the investigation of ancestral evolutionary processes of modern humans is the application of genetic gradients as a measure of fitting, since evolutionary processes such as range expansions, range contractions, and population admixture (among others) can lead to different genetic gradients. In addition, this strategy allows the analysis of the genetic causes of the observed genetic gradients. Here, we review recent findings on the selection among alternative scenarios of human evolution based on simulated genetic gradients, including pros and cons. First, we describe common methodologies to simulate genetic gradients and apply them to select among alternative scenarios of human evolution. Next, we review previous studies on the influence of range expansions, population admixture, last glacial period, and migration with long-distance dispersal on genetic gradients for some regions of the world. Finally, we discuss this analytical approach, including technical limitations, required improvements, and advice. Although here we focus on human evolution, this approach could be extended to study other species.
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spelling pubmed-62108302018-11-02 Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients Branco, Catarina Arenas, Miguel Genes (Basel) Review Selecting among alternative scenarios of human evolution is nowadays a common methodology to investigate the history of our species. This strategy is usually based on computer simulations of genetic data under different evolutionary scenarios, followed by a fitting of the simulated data with the real data. A recent trend in the investigation of ancestral evolutionary processes of modern humans is the application of genetic gradients as a measure of fitting, since evolutionary processes such as range expansions, range contractions, and population admixture (among others) can lead to different genetic gradients. In addition, this strategy allows the analysis of the genetic causes of the observed genetic gradients. Here, we review recent findings on the selection among alternative scenarios of human evolution based on simulated genetic gradients, including pros and cons. First, we describe common methodologies to simulate genetic gradients and apply them to select among alternative scenarios of human evolution. Next, we review previous studies on the influence of range expansions, population admixture, last glacial period, and migration with long-distance dispersal on genetic gradients for some regions of the world. Finally, we discuss this analytical approach, including technical limitations, required improvements, and advice. Although here we focus on human evolution, this approach could be extended to study other species. MDPI 2018-10-18 /pmc/articles/PMC6210830/ /pubmed/30340387 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes9100506 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Branco, Catarina
Arenas, Miguel
Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients
title Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients
title_full Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients
title_fullStr Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients
title_full_unstemmed Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients
title_short Selecting among Alternative Scenarios of Human Evolution by Simulated Genetic Gradients
title_sort selecting among alternative scenarios of human evolution by simulated genetic gradients
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6210830/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30340387
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes9100506
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