Estimation of ancient and recent effective population size from linkage disequilibrium in a closed herd of Iberian pigs

Abstract Text:

Effective population size is an important parameter in conservation genetics as it can help to explain patterns of genetic variation in damaged populations. N_e has been traditionally estimated from demographic data or from molecular markers based on the temporal variance of the allele frequencies that provide pointwise or average estimates over a time period. Here we have inferred ancestral and current N_e in an ancient population of Iberian pigs that is under serious danger of extinction, using information from linkage disequilibrium and recombination rate. Our results show that N_e has suffered a progressive decline through time in this population, with a critical estimate of current N_e. The availability of genome-wide genotyping platforms allows the study of populations from a more detailed perspective, providing information on the genetic status of the populations and on its evolution across time.

Keywords:

effective population size

linkage disequilibrium

high dense SNPs

conservation genetics