Extreme individual marker FST values do not imply population-specific selection in humans: the NRG1 example

Abstract

Extreme population differentiation, as measured by the F_ST value, has been suggested as an indicator of recent population-specific positive selection. Elevated F_ST values indicating high differentiation between continental groups were previously reported on a linkage disequilibrium region in the Neuregulin 1 gene, a gene which has been associated to schizophrenia. In the present study we show evidence that high F_ST values may not necessarily imply the action of selection, in particular positive selection, neither globally nor regionally, using the example of the NRG1 gene.