Files and links (2)
CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
A General Model of Negative Frequency Dependent Selection Explains Global Patterns of Human ABO Polymorphism
PloS one, Vol.10(5), pp.e0125003-e0125003
2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/108217
PMCID: PMC4422588
PMID: 25946124
Abstract
The ABO locus in humans is characterized by elevated heterozygosity and very similar allele frequencies among populations scattered across the globe. Using knowledge of ABO protein function, we generated a simple model of asymmetric negative frequency dependent selection and genetic drift to explain the maintenance of ABO polymorphism and its loss in human populations. In our models, regardless of the strength of selection, models with large effective population sizes result in ABO allele frequencies that closely match those observed in most continental populations. Populations must be moderately small to fall out of equilibrium and lose either the A or B allele (N(e) ≤ 50) and much smaller (N(e) ≤ 25) for the complete loss of diversity, which nearly always involved the fixation of the O allele. A pattern of low heterozygosity at the ABO locus where loss of polymorphism occurs in our model is consistent with small populations, such as Native American populations. This study provides a general evolutionary model to explain the observed global patterns of polymorphism at the ABO locus and the pattern of allele loss in small populations. Moreover, these results inform the range of population sizes associated with the recent human colonization of the Americas.
Metrics
13 Record Views
Details
- Title
- A General Model of Negative Frequency Dependent Selection Explains Global Patterns of Human ABO Polymorphism
- Creators
- Fernando A Villanea - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 644236, Pullman, Washington, 99164, United States of AmericaKristin N Safi - Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, PO Box 644910, Pullman, Washington, 99164, United States of AmericaJeremiah W Busch - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 644236, Pullman, Washington, 99164, United States of America
- Publication Details
- PloS one, Vol.10(5), pp.e0125003-e0125003
- Academic Unit
- Biological Sciences, School of
- Publisher
- Public Library Science; United States
- Number of pages
- 16
- Grant note
- NSF DEB 1119000 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Identifiers
- 99900546842701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article