Biomedical subjects

Xin-Sheng Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Xin-Sheng Hu.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Additive genetic variation and the distribution of QTN effects among sites.

Early quantitative genetic theories emphasize the distribution of gene effects at individual loci or the distribution of mutant effects in maintaining quantitative genetic variation, but infrequently stress the distribution of gene effects among loci. In this study, we analyse the effects of the distribution of quantitative trait nucleotides (QTN) effects among sites under artificial and stabilizing selection. Wright's formula is applied to describing the density distribution of allele frequencies of multiple diallelic QTN at the equilibrium of mutation-drift-selection. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of QTN effects among sites can affect additive genetic variation in terms of total additive variance, average gene diversity, per-class contribution of QTN effects and per-QTN contribution. When the distribution of QTN effects among sites is changed from L-shaped to bell-shaped or to be a flatter, both the total additive variance and the average gene diversity are changed. Per-class and per-QTN contributions exhibit different distribution patterns. The L-shaped distribution indicates the predominant role of the aggregative effects from the QTN of small finite effects. The bell-shaped or flatter distributions indicate the predominance of the QTN of intermediate and large effects. These predictions highlight the significance of the distribution of QTN effects among sites in interpreting the maintenance of quantitative genetic variation at the fine genome scale.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Migration load in males and females.

Many theories have been proposed for interpreting the relative sexual mortalities in natural populations, but the effects of maladaptive genes from migrants on sexual mortality have not been examined. In this study, I systematically explore the properties of migration load in dioecious plants where gender dimorphism is determined by sex chromosomes (the XX-XY or similar system). Two stages of gene flow (pollen and seed) and two stages of selection (gametophyte and sporophyte) are jointly examined in the one- and two-locus cases. The general results show that several factors, including the maladaptive allele frequencies in migrants, migration rate, selection, and linkage disequilibria, can individually or jointly alter the relative sexual mortalities at either the gametophyte or the sporophyte stage, or both. When there are the same values between sexes in the parameters relevant to the migrant gene frequencies and two-stage selection coefficients under the additive viability model (without Y-chromosome and linkage disequilibrium effects), the average mortality is higher in ovules than in pollen since the males do not inherit the maladaptive genes from migrating pollen. The average mortality per individual in the homogametic sex is almost twice as large as that in heterogametic sex at the sporophyte stage. Under the additive viability model, the relative sexual mortalities at the gametophyte stage are negatively related to the relative sexual mortalities at the sporophyte stage.

Alleles↗

PubMed2005

Seed and pollen flow in expanding a species' range.

The distinct processes of gene flow via seeds and pollen in hermaphrodite plants provide a biological basis for interpreting their different roles in expanding a species' range. A species' range is primarily expanded through the colonization process by seed dispersal and followed by the joint effects of both seed and pollen flow. Here we examined the effects of seed and pollen flow on shaping a species' distribution in one-dimensional space. Our results demonstrate that pollen flow can enhance range expansion when immigrating genes are adaptive to recipient populations, but can shrink a species' range when immigrating genes are maladaptive. The incompletely purging of maladaptive genes from immigrating pollen grains at the gametophyte stage can reinforce the biological barrier to range expansion. The linkage disequilibria attained by immigrating seeds and pollen grains indirectly amplify the effects of the reaction component and further limit a species' range. The cumulative effect from multiple loci each with a small effect can be substantial on altering a species' range when these genes are maladaptive. These theoretical predictions can help understand the role of pollen flow that is incapable of colonizing new habitats in range expansion.

Gene Flow↗

PubMed2005

Background selection and population differentiation.

A general analytical formula is derived, which predicts the effects of background selection on population differentiation at a neutral locus as a result of its linkage with selected loci of deleterious mutations. The theory is based on the assumptions of random mating, multiplicative fitness, and weak selection in hermaphrodite plants in the island model of population structure. The analytical results show that Fst at the neutral locus increases as a result of the effects of background selection, regardless of the dependence or independence among linked background selective loci. The increment in Fst is closely related to the magnitude of linkage disequilibria between the neutral locus and selected loci, and can be estimated by the ratio of Fst with background selection to Fst without background selection minus one. The steady-state linkage disequilibrium between a neutral locus and a selected locus in subpopulations, primarily attained by gene flow, decreases with the recombination rate, and can be enhanced when there are dependence among linked selected loci. Monte Carlo computer simulations with two- and three-locus models show that the analytical formulae perform well under general conditions. Application of the present theory may aid in analyzing the genome-wide mapping of the effect of background selection in terms of Fst.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMed2005

Tension versus ecological zones in a two-locus system.

Previous theories show that tension and ecological zones are indistinguishable in terms of gene frequency clines. Here I analytically show that these two types of zones can be distinguished in terms of genetic statistics other than gene frequency. A two-locus cline model is examined with the assumptions of random mating, weak selection, no drift, no mutation, and multiplicative viabilities. The genetic statistics for distinguishing the two types of zones are the deviations of one- or two-locus genotypic frequencies from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) or from random association of gametes (RAG), and the deviations of additive and dominance variances from the values at HWE. These deviations have a discontinuous distribution in space and different extents of interruptions in the ecological zone with a sharp boundary, but exhibit a continuous distribution in the tension zone. Linkage disequilibrium enhances the difference between the deviations from HWE and from RAG for any two-locus genotypic frequency.

Ecosystem↗

PubMed2005

Genetic structure and migration from mainland to island populations in Abies procera Rehd.

Noble fir (Abies procera Rehd) is a narrowly distributed conifer with a typical mainland-island structure of natural distribution. Here, we examined the genetic structure of populations native to the Pacific coast from Oregon to Washington (5 island and 16 mainland populations) with 14 polymorphic allozyme loci. A general method for estimating the number of unidirectional migrants from the mainland to island populations is presented in terms of the relation of average heterozygosity between the mainland and island populations. The results indicated that there were substantial island-mainland population differentiations (Fst = 0.107+/-0.029~0.154+/-0.039) but small differentiation within the mainland/submainland populations (0.037+/-0.008 approximately 0.054+/-0.010). Significant isolation by distance existed among the island-mainland populations and among the populations in Washington submainland. Four islands investigated received different numbers of migrants from the mainland/submainland. The southern island populations received a smaller number of migrants from the mainland but had greater genetic diversity, implying that there could be introgression with A. magnifica and (or) they represented possible glacial refuges and had expanded northwards after the last glaciations. The island populations close to the Pacific coast were more likely mainland-dependent.

Abies↗

PubMed2004

Joining genetic linkage maps using a joint likelihood function.

We present an efficient method to join genetic maps derived from different crosses, which is especially appropriate for dominant markers. In contrast to the "JoinMap" algorithm, which estimates information about recombination in a given cross from the LOD values and then combines estimates among crosses assuming a binomial sampling distribution, we construct a joint likelihood function that combines information across all crosses, to obtain a joint estimate of recombination. Simulations indicated that the difference between these two approaches is small when codominant markers are used, but that the joint likelihood approach shows substantially improved estimates when dominant or a mixture of dominant and codominant markers are used. This is because the joint likelihood implicitly finds the optimal weights among different classes of data, while the former method does not accurately predict the information from crosses involving dominant markers. Application of our method is illustrated by the construction of a linkage map for Linanthus using both backcrosses and the F2 of a cross between Linanthus jepsonii and L. bicolor, assayed with amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP).

Chromosome Mapping↗

PubMed2003

On migration load of seeds and pollen grains in a local population.

We have extended Wright's model of migration load to hermaphrodite plants showing variation at a single locus with two alleles. The model incorporates independent migration of seeds and pollen grains, the selection at both the haploid gametophyte and the diploid sporophyte stages, and a mixed mating system. The analytical relations between migration load and migration rate of seeds and pollen grains are explicitly formulated. The results show that under certain conditions, seed flow can have a more effect on migration load than pollen flow. Pollen selection at the gametophyte stage cannot substantially affect the migration load at the sporophyte stage. Selection at the diploid sporophyte stage is critical in determining the migration load of pollen grains. The relative migration loads of pollen versus seeds can be approximately estimated in predominantly outcrossing populations by the ratio of pollen flow to twice the seed flow, when the selection coefficient (s(T)) is greater than, or approximately equal to, the migration rate (m).

Models, Genetic↗

PubMed2002

Seed and pollen flow and cline discordance among genes with different modes of inheritance.

The relationships between seed and pollen flow and cline discordance/concordance between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes, with the incorporation of the effects of natural selection, are formulated for one locus with two alleles, under assumptions of random mating, no drift and no mutation. Results show that under certain conditions, the relative roles of seed and pollen flow in shaping cline discordance/ concordance are very similar to their roles in influencing population differentiation for selectively neutral markers with different modes of inheritance. Where the disequilibria between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes are of the order similar to selection coefficient, cline discordance/concordance can be predicted from the relative values of the ratio of pollen to seed flow and the ratio of selection coefficients. Where the disequilibria attained by seed and pollen flow are significant, the integrated cytonuclear data are recommended for cline analysis. In both cases, the relative rates of selection coefficients between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes can be roughly estimated according to their characteristic length.

Alleles↗