The faster-X effect: integrating theory and data.

The faster-X effect: integrating theory and data.
Trends Genet. 2013 Jun 19;
Authors: Meisel RP, Connallon T
Abstract
Population genetics theory predicts that X (or Z) chromosomes could play disproportionate roles in speciation and evolutionary divergence, and recent genome-wide analyses have identified situations in which X or Z-linked divergence exceeds that on the autosomes (the so-called 'faster-X effect'). Here, we summarize the current state of both the theory and data surrounding the study of faster-X evolution. Our survey indicates that the faster-X effect is pervasive across a taxonomically diverse array of evolutionary lineages. These patterns could be informative of the dominance or recessivity of beneficial mutations and the nature of genetic variation acted upon by natural selection. We also identify several aspects of disagreement between these empirical results and the population genetic models used to interpret them. However, there are clearly delineated aspects of the problem for which additional modeling and collection of genomic data will address these discrepancies and provide novel insights into the population genetics of adaptation.
PMID: 23790324 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Trends in Genetics : TIG - June 19, 2013 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Meisel RP, Connallon T Tags: Trends Genet Source Type: research