THE SELECTIVE STRUCTURE OF A GENE POOL - I - POSSIBILITIES OF STUDYING

Possibilities of studying the properties of a selective gene pool stru cture, a new characteristic of the population genetic structure, are d escribed. The characteristic depends on the type of selection and its effects on individual genes. The selective structure is evaluated by e stimating significant differences between the interpopulation variatio n of i genes (F-ST(i) and the average variation of the total gene pool ((F) over bar(ST)). This allows the role of individual genes in the s elective gene pool structure to be determined and a hypothesis on the effect of the selection proposed, thus, providing a possibility of com paring individual genes and gene pools in terms of the effects of the natural selection, the key microevolutionary factor. The authors also describe properties and a reliable estimation of F-ST(i) and (F) over bar(ST), possibilities and factors of estimating a selection-neutral d ifferentiation F-e from genetic demographical data and the empirical a verage (F) over bar(ST) of gene markers (classical, DNA, quasi-genetic ), stability of genetic processes and other aspects of using an equali ty (F) over bar(ST) = F-e = 1/[4N(e)M(e) + 1], construction of a repre sentative sample of a populations with regard to their hierarchic stru cture, gene sampling and polymorphism, etc. F-ST(i) values for gene po ols of indigenous populations from various continents and various regi ons of northeast Eurasia were estimated (>90 alleles, >30 loci). For a ll polymorphic genes (0.05 less than or equal to q less than or equal to 0.95), the average (F) over bar(ST) x 10(2) was 1.60 in Europe, 8.0 1 in Asia, 6.63 in Africa, 6.34 in Australia, 11.34 in America, and 6. 78 in northeast Eurasia. Regional gene pools of the latter displayed ( F) over bar(ST) of 2.25 in the European part, 2.62 in the Caucasus, 3. 55 in the Urals, 2.71 in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, and 8.02 in Sibe ria and the Russian Far East.