© 2010 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. Evolutionary quantified nature genetics e-mail: State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Trudy F C Mackay is at the Department of Genetics, North Carolina ever, population and quantitative genetics need to be incorporated into sible for maintenance of variation within populations. Now more than ; and to understand the balance of evolutionary forces respon and complex traits in humans; to identify genes responsible for adaptive balancing selection; to identify polymorphisms associatedand with purifying positive,diseases under regions genomic identify to histories; sophisticated level the evolution of whole genomes and alternative life increasingly an at understand to used be to continue will and been have data These data. polymorphism genetic reporting in scale and genomics field has provided continually increasing levels of resolution available.readily became models the Since then, theoretical test these identify enzyme polymorphisms in populations, that empirical data to it was not until the 1960s, with the application of gel electrophoresis to tion for today’s population and quantitative genetics theory. However, sophisticated mathematical models that have as the founda survived input of new deleterious and their selective removal. selective sweep), a balance of selective forces, or a balance between the balancing selection, positive selection for an advantageous (a neutralexpectation.departurefromSuchattributablethe a may be to neutral mutations and or to show signatures of departure selectively between balance a from expected as evolving are genome variancegeneticofquantitative the regionstraits which inferto of the appliedcan be distributions then to observed of frequencies allele and theory andThis timescales. longand populationsshortover and between within traits, quantitative for and loci segregating at variation genetic of patterns produce to migration and drift genetic selection, mutation and recombination areas affected by thesuch evolutionary forcesprocesses of genetic how of study the is genetics Evolutionary Early in the last century, Wright, Haldane and Fisher developed developed Fisher and Haldane Wright, century, last the in Early [email protected]

| volume 42 ISBN 9780981519425 Reviewed by Reviewed Trudy F C Mackay 768 Roberts and Company Publishers, 2010 B E rian Charlesworth & lements of

pp., hardcopy, $80 u | number 12 E volutionary Genetics

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december 2010

- - The author declares no competing financial interests. genetics. evolutionary of field the on treatise comprehensive,up-to-date a is that textbook a produce to fields these in expertise extensive their on life science researchers. Brian and Deborah Charlesworth have drawn of base knowledge intoand the curricula undergraduate sciences life quencies under the joint actions of mutation, selection and drift. The and drift. of the joint under selection actions mutation, quencies probabilityfre the distributionsand allele population of size finite complicationof the chapterintroduces fifth The balance. selection tionary genetics of adaptation, and migration-selection and mutation- selection theory at a single locus and for quantitative traits, the evolu classic populations, outbred and inbreeding in measurement its and variability genetic describes chapters, four first the including book, part review. It is divided into ten chapters. The first section of the text briefly briefly discussed in less advanced texts. and evolutionary genetics who seek more detailed knowledge of material general overview of the field for self study and to teachers of population for researchers in and human genetics who wish a biology, statistics and mathematics. This textbook is also recommended the textbook assumes at least a familiarity with basic genetics, molecular graduate course in evolutionary genetics. Readers should be aware that end of the textbook. chapter,the workedanswerseachat of fully end with the at given are ranging from simple numerical examples to more advanced derivations assist those readers who have forgotten what they once knew. Problems to book the of end mathematics, the probabilityatstatistics basic and mathematically challenged readers, and there are helpful appendicesmore to accessible on also book the make data empirical applicationsto explanationstheoreticalkeyresults discussionstheof andthe theirof comfortablemostmaterial. be the However,with will lucidverbal the Readers with skills in matrix algebra, calculus, statistics and mathematics textbook. this ofentirety the digesting in helpful is expertise ematical math some focus, this of Because arguments. the of flow logical the interruptnot do and boxes text in formulaecorralledare key of tions heavy with mathematical and statistical explanations. Details of deriva presentation of each of these concepts is straightforward, although often biology.authors’evolutionaryofThe study the to centralconcepts of examples from a wide range of organisms, including plants, viruses, genomeevolution.topicsin areillustrated The throughoutics with top selected and histories, life and ratios systems, breeding of theory, evolutionary the multi-locus evolution populations, in genetics subdivided and population selection, of tests genetic population remaining chapters discuss the neutral of theory molecular evolution, COMPETING FINANCIAL INTERESTS Elements of Evolutionary Genetics Elements of EvolutionaryGenetics of Elements providestextbookThis comprehensive coverage broadoftherange and humans. book review is part text, part monograph and monograph is part text, part is an ideal text for an advanced an for text ideal an is 1033 ------