What does Arabidopsis polymorphism look like genome-wide?
A. thaliana shows clear global population structure and isolation by distance; demography can mimic selection in standard tests.
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The pattern of polymorphism in Arabidopsis thaliana
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What does Arabidopsis polymorphism look like genome-wide?
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What global pattern of variation did they find?
clear global population structure.
What geographic pattern emerges?
isolation by distance [].
What they did
Genotyped many markers across hierarchical and worldwide Arabidopsis accessions and analyzed structure, LD, and neutrality statistics.
What they found
Clear global structure and isolation by distance; selfing does not make it asexual lineages; polymorphism not unusually low; demography can invalidate naive selection tests.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Does not map every selected locus causing adaptation.
Key terms
- Population structure
- Systematic allele-frequency differences among groups.
- Isolation by distance
- Genetic similarity declining with geographic distance.
- Linkage disequilibrium (LD)
- Non-random association of alleles at different loci.
- Selfing
- Self-fertilization mating system.
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Global pattern
Common questions
Is A. thaliana asexual?
No—selfing ≠ clonal lineages.
Global pattern?
Clear population structure / IBD.
Polymorphism level?
Not unusually low vs flies/humans.
Selection tests caveat?
Demography can mimic selection.
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