School of Mathematics

Caroline Kosiol

Estimating the evolutionary history of populations using boundary mutation models

The multivariate Wright-Fisher and Moran models are standard models in population genetics. However, complete analytical solutions are usually intractable and also numerical treatment is cumbersome if population sizes are large. In my group, we found simple and intuitive derivation of the stationary distribution of these models for general rate matrices under the assumption of low mutation rates (boundary mutation models). Besides theoretical advantages, our result is a valuable tool for inference of species histories from population data. I will present what can be learned by applying our methods to genome-wide data of seven baboon populations such the relationship of these species, new estimates of divergence times and mutation rates, and consequences of these results for molecular genome-wide dating.