Isolation by distance, web service

• Main Authors: Bohonak Andrew J, Jensen Jeffrey L, Kelley Scott T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2005-03-01
• Series: BMC Genetics
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/6/13

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The population genetic pattern known as "isolation by distance" results from spatially limited gene flow and is a commonly observed phenomenon in natural populations. However, few software programs exist for estimating the degree of isolation by distance among populations, and they tend not to be user-friendly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have created Isolation by Distance Web Service (IBDWS) a user-friendly web interface for determining patterns of isolation by distance. Using this site, population geneticists can perform a variety of powerful statistical tests including Mantel tests, Reduced Major Axis (RMA) regression analysis, as well as calculate <it>F</it>_{<it>ST </it>}between all pairs of populations and perform basic summary statistics (e.g., heterozygosity). All statistical results, including publication-quality scatter plots in Postscript format, are returned rapidly to the user and can be easily downloaded.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IBDWS population genetics analysis software is hosted at <url>http://phage.sdsu.edu/~jensen/</url> and documentation is available at <url>http://www.bio.sdsu.edu/pub/andy/IBD.html</url>. The source code has been made available on Source Forge at <url>http://sourceforge.net/projects/ibdws/</url>.</p>