Investigating Sources of Intron Nucleotide Diversity with the Species Anas

Abstract

<p>Introns are increasingly being used in studies of population genetics and phylogenetics because their mutations are presumed to be effectively neutral. However, growing evidence suggests that selection influences intron polymorph isms, making them less suitable for studying the population histories of species. The purpose of this study is to test whether the selection has a direct affect on the introns themselves or an indirect affect resulting from introns being physically linked to protein-coding exons. To test these hypotheses, I sequenced the exons flanking nine introns that appear to be under different selective pressures for 30 species of ducks from the genus Anas. I predicted that if selection acts indirectly on introns, then nucleotide diversity within introns will be correlated with amino acid replacements within the flanking exons. Preliminary results suggest that introns with low diversity are more likely to contain amino acid replacements within their exons, suggesting the influence of selective sweeps on intron diversity.</p><p>This presentation occurred at the Wright State University Campus-Wide Celebration of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities on April 8, 2011</p>