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Fisher's historic 1922 paper On the dominance ratio.
- Source :
-
Genetics . Mar2022, Vol. 220 Issue 3, p1-8. 8p. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- R.A. Fisher's 1922 paper On the dominance ratio has a strong claim to be the foundation paper for modern population genetics. It greatly influenced subsequent work by Haldane and Wright, and contributed 3 major innovations to the study of evolution at the genetic level. First, the introduction of a general model of selection at a single locus, which showed how variability could be maintained by heterozygote advantage. Second, the use of the branching process approach to show that a beneficial mutation has a substantial chance of loss from the population, even when the population size is extremely large. Third, the invention of the concept of a probability distribution of allele frequency, caused by random sampling of allele frequencies due to finite population size, and the first use of a diffusion equation to investigate the properties of such a distribution. Although Fisher was motivated by an inference that later turned out to lack strong empirical support (a substantial contribution of dominance to quantitative trait variability), and his use of a diffusion equation was marred by a technical mistake, the paper introduced concepts and methods that pervade much subsequent work in population genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00166731
- Volume :
- 220
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Genetics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 155595964
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyac006