What we're reading: The tiger genome, pooled sequencing for population genomics, and more fretting about academic careers

Man reading book
In the journals
Cho YS et al. 2013. The tiger genome and comparative analysis with lion and snow leopard genomes. Nature Communications 4:2433. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3433.

Through comparative genetic analyses of these genomes, we find genetic signatures that may reflect molecular adaptations consistent with the big cats’ hypercarnivorous diet and muscle strength. We report a snow leopard-specific genetic determinant in EGLN1 (Met394Lys39), which is likely to be associated with adaptation to high altitude.

Ferretti L, SE Ramos-Onsins, and M Pérez-Enciso. Population genomics from pool sequencing. Molecular Ecology doi: 10.1111/mec.12522.

Next generation sequencing of pooled samples is an effective approach for studies of variability and differentiation in populations. In this paper we provide a comprehensive set of estimators of the most common statistics in population genetics based on the frequency spectrum, namely the Watterson estimator θW , nucleotide pairwise diversity Π, Tajima’s D, Fu and Li’s D and F , Fay and Wu’s H, McDonald-Kreitman and HKA tests and Fst, corrected for sequencing errors and ascertainment bias.

In the news
Identifying functional variation across the genome using transcriptome sequencing.
Concerning the infamous two-body problem.
An insider account of how faculty hiring committees work.
No, PhDs finding non-academic careers is not a sign that we should make more PhDs.
“She was a professor?” Yeah, but she was an adjunct.

About Jeremy Yoder

Jeremy B. Yoder is an Associate Professor of Biology at California State University Northridge, studying the evolution and coevolution of interacting species, especially mutualists. He is a collaborator with the Joshua Tree Genome Project and the Queer in STEM study of LGBTQ experiences in scientific careers. He has written for the website of Scientific American, the LA Review of Books, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Awl, and Slate.
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