What is Genetic Distance and How Does it Affect Human Populations?

[Robert Zaleski]

Can someone define what genetic distance is, and how it relates to different human populations?

 

[iansmith]

Genetics distance is define has beign the % of difference (mutation) between homologous protein/genes. The greater the diffence the greater is the evolutionnary distance but the distance is relative to the species/group distance.

For human population, genetics distance is use to determine where people are coming from and it is also use to see the how population move, interbreed, die and were intergrated. Clustal of variation are often seen within a group.

 

[Robert Zaleski]

Thank You, Ian

 

[Monique]

Genetic distances are measure in Centimorgans (cM) and 1 cM means a 1% rate of recombination. 1 cM is about equal to 1 Mb, but that differs per region and per sexe (females have a higher rate of recombination).

 

[Robert Zaleski]

Thank You, Monique.

Can you recommend a website or book (nothing esoteric)that can provide me with the basics. I'm running into a number of words that are alien to me, e.g., phenotypes, haplotypes, alleles, mitochondial.

 

[iansmith]

If you looking for basic definition here a couple of website

http://www.ndif.org/t-a.html - Terminology
http://www.geneed.com/glossary/g/index.html - Biotechnology Glossary
http://www.weihenstephan.de/~schlind/genglos.html - Glossary of Genetic Terms

 

[Robert Zaleski]

Thanks, Ian

 

[Monique]

If you ever run into a specific problem, please don't hesitate to ask there are a number of people here into genetics, including me.