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A Comparison of the Variability Spectra of Two Genomic Loci in a European Group of Individuals Reveals Fundamental Differences Pointing to Selection or a Population Bottleneck
Author(s) -
Schmegner C.,
Hoegel J.,
Vogel W.,
Assum G.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
annals of human genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1469-1809
pISSN - 0003-4800
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1809.2006.00342.x
Subject(s) - locus (genetics) , biology , genetics , population , evolutionary biology , population bottleneck , demographic history , population genetics , gene , genetic variation , allele , microsatellite , demography , sociology
Summary Knowledge about the variability spectra of neutrally evolving sequences in a population is a prerequisite for the identification of genes, which may have been under positive selection during recent human evolution. Here, we report the results of a re‐sequencing project of a presumably neutrally evolving chromosome 22 locus with a severely reduced recombination frequency in a group of 24 individuals of German origin. The comparison of these data with the results of a similar analysis of a chromosome 17 locus revealed striking differences, although the same group of individuals was used. For the chromosome 17 locus two well‐separated groups of sequences, a positive value of Tajima's D and a TMRCA of 700 000 years were observed. In contrast, the sequences from the chromosome 22 locus were found to be relatively homogeneous, with no deep splits between subgroups; the obtained value for Tajima's D was negative and the TMRCA was only 260 000 years. These discrepancies may be explained by selection or demographic processes. Regarding demography, the most plausible explanation is the assumption of a severe bottleneck in the history of the European population: in the case of the chromosome 17 locus two ancient lineages passed this bottleneck; for the chromosome 22 locus it was only one ancient lineage.