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Uniform TitleGenetic variation and population structure in wild isolates of Caenorhabditis elegans collected from California
NameDey, Alivia (author), Chiu, Dr. Chi-hua (chair), Hey, Dr. Jody (internal member), Singson, Dr. Andrew (internal member), Rutgers University, Graduate School - New Brunswick,
Degree Date2007
Date Created2007
SubjectMicrobiology and Molecular Genetics,
Caenorhabditis elegans,
Variation (Biology),
Worms--Genetics
DescriptionThough much widespread in distribution, the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits low levels of genetic variation at the DNA sequence level, a paradox which may be partly explained by its typical self-fertilization mode of reproduction. However recent work on the genetic structure of natural populations of C. elegans from France, Scotland and Portugal suggests a substantial level of outcrossing together with finding of a very strong local population structure. To find out whether this same occurrence extrapolates to other wild isolates of worm populations, the present study was carried on worm populations from California. Here, genetic variation is studied by detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms in a random genome-wide manner using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis (AFLP). The worms used in this study are natural isolates of C. elegans collected from parks and gardens around the Los Angeles area in southern California. Some populations sampled were a few meters apart, enabling the assessment of variation and population structure on a very local scale. As previous studies, a low overall genetic diversity was found with these worm populations. The finding of a strong population structure and high linkage disequilibrium both within and between chromosomes was also concurrent with the findings from other wild isolates. All these findings elucidate the extra-ordinary evolutionary dynamics of these sets of worm from the wild.
NoteM.S.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references (p. 38-41).
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttp://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.15814
LanguageEnglish
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.