| Title |
Genetic Evidence for Unequal Effective Population Sizes of Human Females and Males
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Molecular Biology and Evolution, July 2004
|
| DOI | 10.1093/molbev/msh214 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Jason A. Wilder, Zahra Mobasher, Michael F. Hammer |
| Abstract |
The time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of the human mitochondria (mtDNA) is estimated to be older than that of the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY). Surveys of variation in globally distributed humans typically result in mtDNA TMRCA values just under 200 thousand years ago (kya), whereas those for the NRY range between 46 and 110 kya. A favored hypothesis for this finding is that natural selection has acted on the NRY, leading to a recent selective sweep. An alternate hypothesis is that sex-biased demographic processes are responsible. Here, we re-examine the disparity between NRY and mtDNA TMRCAs using data collected from individual human populations--a sampling strategy that minimizes the confounding influence of population subdivision in global data sets. We survey variation at 782 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 3 gene as well as at 26.5 kb of noncoding DNA from the NRY in a sample of 25 Khoisan, 24 Mongolians, and 24 Papua New Guineans. Data from both loci in all populations are best described by a model of constant population size, with the exception of Mongolian mtDNA, which appears to be experiencing rapid population growth. Taking these demographic models into account, we estimate the TMRCAs for each locus in each population. A pattern that is remarkably consistent across all three populations is an approximately twofold deeper coalescence for mtDNA than for the NRY. The oldest TMRCAs are observed for the Khoisan (73.6 kya for the NRY and 176.5 kya for mtDNA), whereas those in the non-African populations are consistently lower (averaging 47.7 kya for the NRY and 92.8 kya for mtDNA). Our data do not suggest that differential natural selection is the cause of this difference in TMRCAs. Rather, these results are most consistent with a higher female effective population size. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 10 | 17% |
| Japan | 3 | 5% |
| Spain | 3 | 5% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 5% |
| Turkey | 1 | 2% |
| Comoros | 1 | 2% |
| Greenland | 1 | 2% |
| Qatar | 1 | 2% |
| Philippines | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 5 | 8% |
| Unknown | 31 | 52% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 50 | 83% |
| Scientists | 6 | 10% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 3% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 139 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 11 | 8% |
| South Africa | 2 | 1% |
| Canada | 2 | 1% |
| Brazil | 2 | 1% |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 1% |
| Uruguay | 1 | <1% |
| Italy | 1 | <1% |
| Colombia | 1 | <1% |
| Germany | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 2 | 1% |
| Unknown | 114 | 82% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 33 | 24% |
| Researcher | 33 | 24% |
| Student > Master | 17 | 12% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 14 | 10% |
| Professor | 9 | 6% |
| Other | 28 | 20% |
| Unknown | 5 | 4% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 72 | 52% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 15 | 11% |
| Social Sciences | 12 | 9% |
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 6 | 4% |
| Psychology | 6 | 4% |
| Other | 18 | 13% |
| Unknown | 10 | 7% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 96. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 March 2024.
All research outputs
#448,517
of 25,734,859 outputs
Outputs from Molecular Biology and Evolution
#150
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Outputs of similar age
#387
of 60,045 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Molecular Biology and Evolution
#1
of 38 outputs
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