The development of most phenotypic traits involves complex interactions between many underlying factors, both genetic and environmental. To study the evolution of such processes, a set of mathematical relationships is derived that describe how selection acts to change the distribution of genetic variation given arbitrarily complex developmental interactions and any distribution of genetic and e...

Background: It is generally assumed that short-term population dynamics are too slow to be influenced by evolution. Question: Can evolution occurring within only weeks (four to five generations) impact concurrent population dynamics? Organism: Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) growing on an undomesticated host (Hirschfeldia incana). Aphid clones were collected from a single wild population. Si...

Joan L. McGregor T he genetic revolution is well underway, with genetic research and knowledge expanding at an exponential rate. Much of the new genetics research is focused on population groups, and proponents of “population genomics” argue that such studies are necessary since genetic “variation” among human populations holds the most promise for technological innovations that can improve hum...

Population genetics investigates the distribution of genetic variation in natural populations and the genetic differentiation among populations. Lichen-forming fungi are exciting subjects for population genetic studies due to their obligate symbiosis with a green-algal and/or cyanobacterial photobiont, and because their different reproductive strategies could influence fungal genetic structures...

Molecular ecological studies are often characterised by an extremely high number of samples and by an equal high number of molecular analyses to whom the samples have been subjected. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) is a powerful statistical method for the description of factors influencing the structure of populations. AMOVA has been applied to different biological systems, trying to...