Population Genetics. Matthew B. Hamilton
in a genotype, this value of the fixation index tells us that the two alleles in a genotype are much more frequently of the same state than expected by chance.
Table 2.8 Observed genotype counts and frequencies in a sample of N = 200 individuals for a single locus with two alleles. Allele frequencies in the population can be estimated from the genotype frequencies by summing the total count of each allele and dividing it by the total number of alleles in the sample (2N).
Genotype | Observed | Observed frequency | Allele count | Allele frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|
BB | 142 |
|
284 B |
|
Bb | 28 |
|
28 B, 28 b | |
bb | 30 |
|
60 b |
|
In biological populations, a wide range of values have been observed for the fixation index (Table 2.9). Fixation indices have frequently been estimated with allozyme data (see Box 2.2). Estimates of
The fixation index can be understood as a measure of the correlation between the states of the two alleles in a diploid genotype. When F = 0 there is no correlation between the two alleles in a genotype, the states of the two alleles are independent as we expect under Mendel's first law. If F > 0 there is a positive correlation such that if one of the alleles in a genotype is an A, for example, then the other allele will have a correlated state and also be an A. When F < 0 there is a negative correlation between the states of the two alleles in a genotype and heterozygotes are more common since the two alleles tend to have different states.
Extending the fixation index to loci with more than two alleles requires a means to calculate the expected frequency of genotypes with identical alleles (or with non‐identical alleles) for an arbitrary number of alleles at one diploid locus. This can be accomplished by adding up all of the expected frequencies of each possible homozygous genotype and subtracting this total from 1 or summing the expected frequencies of all heterozygous genotypes:
Table 2.9 Estimates of the fixation index (
) for various species based on pedigree or molecular genetic marker data.Species | Mating system |
|
Method | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Humans | ||||
Homo sapiens | outcrossed | 0.0001–0.046 | pedigree | Jorde (1997) |
Snail | ||||
Bulinus truncates | selfed & outcrossed | 0.6–1.0 | microsatellites | Viard et al. (1997) |
Domestic dogs | ||||
Breeds combined | outcrossed | 0.33 | allozyme | Christensen et al. (1985) |
German Shepard | outcrossed | 0.10 | ||
Mongrels | outcrossed | 0.06 | ||
Plants | ||||
Arabidopsis thaliana | Selfed | 0.99 | allozyme | Abbott et al. (1989) |
Pinus ponderosa | outcrossed |
|