Overestimation of the adaptive substitution rate in fluctuating populations. (9th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rousselle, Marjolaine; Mollion, Maeva; Nabholz, Benoit; Bataillon, Thomas; Galtier, Nicolas
• Is Part Of: Biology letters. Volume 14:Number 5(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-05-09
• Subjects: molecular adaptation -- simulations -- coding sequence evolution -- fitness effect of mutations -- effective population size; Biology -- Periodicals; 570.5
• DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0055
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-9561

Abstract

Abstract : Estimating the proportion of adaptive substitutions ( α ) is of primary importance to uncover the determinants of adaptation in comparative genomic studies. Several methods have been proposed to estimate α from patterns polymorphism and divergence in coding sequences. However, estimators of α can be biased when the underlying assumptions are not met. Here we focus on a potential source of bias, i.e. variation through time in the long-term population size ( N ) of the considered species. We show via simulations that ancient demographic fluctuations can generate severe overestimations of α, and this is irrespective of the recent population history.