Population genomics

High-throughput sequencing is now relatively commonplace. We'll see a couple of examples of how the huge amount of additional data available allows population geneticists to make much more detailed inferences about population relationships and population ancestry than ever before. I'll refer to some of the bioinformatic challenges associated with these data, but we'll focus on some of the conceptual challenges associated with (a) relatively low coverage and (b) higher rates of sequencing error. These data provide yet another example of why it's important to pay careful attention not only to the data that you collect but also to the underlying processes associated with sampling those data.

Online notes

Associated readings

Davey, J.W., P.A. Hohenlohe, P.D. Etter, J.Q. Boone, J.M. Catchen, and M.L. Blaxter. 2011. Genome-wide discovery and genotyping using next-generation sequencing. Nature Reviews Genetics 12:499-510 link