Genetics of Populations

Population genetics is the study of genetic differences within and between populations. It is also an evolutionary biology branch. This branch of biology looks into adaptation, speciation, and population structure.

The rise of the modern evolutionary synthesis necessitated the application of population genetics. The primary founders were Sewall Wright, J. B. S. Haldane, and Ronald Fisher, who also laid the framework for the allied science of quantitative genetics. Modern population genetics is a highly mathematical subject that includes theoretical, laboratory, and field research. Using DNA sequence data, population genetic models are used for statistical inference as well as concept proof/disproof.

Population genetics differs from newer, more phenotypic approaches to modelling evolution, such as evolutionary game theory and adaptive dynamics, by emphasising genetic phenomena such as dominance, epistasis, the degree to which a genetic recombination breaks linkage disequilibrium, and the random phenomena of mutation and genetic drift. As a result, it becomes an excellent candidate for comparison with population genomics data.