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PMID: 19687804 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Review

Genetics in geographically structured populations: defining, estimating and interpreting F(ST).

Nature reviews. Genetics ·Vol. 10 ·No. 9 ·2009-09-00 ·Pages 639-50

Holsinger KE, Weir BS

Abstract

Wright's F-statistics, and especially F(ST), provide important insights into the evolutionary processes that influence the structure of genetic variation within and among populations, and they are among the most widely used descriptive statistics in population and evolutionary genetics. Estimates of F(ST) can identify regions of the genome that have been the target of selection, and comparisons of F(ST) from different parts of the genome can provide insights into the demographic history of populations. For these reasons and others, F(ST) has a central role in population and evolutionary genetics and has wide applications in fields that range from disease association mapping to forensic science. This Review clarifies how F(ST) is defined, how it should be estimated, how it is related to similar statistics and how estimates of F(ST) should be interpreted.

MeSH Terms
Animals Data Interpretation, Statistical Gene Frequency Genetic Variation Genetics, Population/methods,statistics & numerical data Geography Humans Population Groups/genetics,statistics & numerical data Statistics as Topic
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Holsinger Kent E
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, U-3043, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043, USA. [email protected]
Weir Bruce S
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Article Info
Journal
Nature reviews. Genetics
Abbr.
Nat Rev Genet
ISSN
1471-0064
DOI
10.1038/nrg2611
Email
[email protected]
Published
2009-09-00
Pages
639-50
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
100962779
PMCID
PMC4687486
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM068449 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM075091 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · 1 R01 GM 068449-01A1 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · 1 R01 GM 075091 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/nrg2611 PMC Full Text View journal details
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