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Ecological genetics is the study of genetics in natural populations. It combines ecology, evolution, and genetics to understand the processes behind adaptation.[1] It is virtually synonymous with the field of molecular ecology.
This contrasts with classical genetics, which works mostly on crosses between laboratory strains, and DNA sequence analysis, which studies genes at the molecular level.
Research in this field is on traits of ecological significance—traits that affect an organism's fitness, or its ability to survive and reproduce.[1] Examples of such traits include flowering time, drought tolerance, polymorphism, mimicry, and avoidance of attacks by predators.[2][citation needed]
Research usually involves a mixture of field and laboratory studies.[3] Samples of natural populations may be taken back to the laboratory for their genetic variation to be analyzed. Changes in the populations at different times and places will be noted, and the pattern of mortality in these populations will be studied. Research is often done on organisms that have short generation times, such as insects and microbial communities.[4][5]
- ^ a b Conner, Jeffrey K.; Hartl, Daniel L. (2004). A primer of ecological genetics. Sunderland, Mass: Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-0-87893-202-3.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ford E.B. 1981. Taking genetics into the countryside. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London.
- ^ Fellowes, Mark, ed. (2005). Insect evolutionary ecology: proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society's 22nd Symposium. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society's ... symposium. Wallingford: CABI Publ. ISBN 978-0-85199-812-1.
- ^ Kassen, Rees; Rainey, Paul B. (October 2004). "The Ecology and Genetics of Microbial Diversity". Annual Review of Microbiology. 58 (1): 207–231. doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123654. ISSN 0066-4227. PMID 15487936.