Estimating the timing of multiple admixture pulses during local ancestry inference

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Admixture, the mixing of genetically distinct populations, is increasingly recognized as a fundamental biological process. One major goal of admixture analyses is to estimate the timing of admixture events. Whereas most methods today can only detect the most recent admixture event, here, we present coalescent theory and associated software that can be used to estimate the timing of multiple admixture events in an admixed population. We extensively validate this approach and evaluate the conditions under which it can successfully distinguish one-from two-pulse admixture models. We apply our approach to real and simulated data of Drosophila melanogaster. We find evidence of a single very recent pulse of cosmopolitan ancestry contributing to African populations, as well as evidence for more ancient admixture among genetically differentiated populations in sub-Saharan Africa. These results suggest our method can quantify complex admixture histories involving genetic material introduced by multiple discrete admixture pulses. The new method facilitates the exploration of admixture and its contribution to adaptation, ecological divergence, and speciation.

Original languageEnglish
JournalGenetics
Volume210
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)1089-1107
Number of pages19
ISSN0016-6731
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

    Research areas

  • Admixture, Drosophila melanogaster, Local ancestry inference

ID: 211860251