The search for loci under selection : trends, biases and progress

Collin W. Ahrens, Paul D. Rymer, Adam Stow, Jason Bragg, Shannon Dillon, Kate D. L. Umbers, Rachael Y. Dudaniec

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

154 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Detecting genetic variants under selection using FST outlier analysis (OA) and environmental association analyses (EAA) are popular approaches that provide insight into the genetic basis of local adaptation. Despite the frequent use of OA and EAA approaches and their increasing attractiveness for detecting signatures of selection, their application to field‐based empirical data have not been synthesized. Here, we review 66 empirical studies that use Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in OA and EAA. We report trends and biases across biological systems, sequencing methods, approaches, parameters, environmental variables and their influence on detecting signatures of selection. We found striking variability in both the use and reporting of environmental data and statistical parameters. For example, linkage disequilibrium among SNPs and numbers of unique SNP associations identified with EAA were rarely reported. The proportion of putatively adaptive SNPs detected varied widely among studies, and decreased with the number of SNPs analyzed. We found that genomic sampling effort had a greater impact than biological sampling effort on the proportion of identified SNPs under selection. OA identified a higher proportion of outliers when more individuals were sampled, but this was not the case for EAA. To facilitate repeatability, interpretation and synthesis of studies detecting selection, we recommend that future studies consistently report geographic coordinates, environmental data, model parameters, linkage disequilibrium, and measures of genetic structure. Identifying standards for how OA and EAA studies are designed and reported will aid future transparency and comparability of SNP‐based selection studies and help to progress landscape and evolutionary genomics.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1342-1356
Number of pages45
JournalMolecular Ecology
Volume27
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • genotype-environment interaction
  • single nucleotide polymorphisms

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The search for loci under selection : trends, biases and progress'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this