Detecting shared independent selection

Abstract

Signals of selection are not often shared between populations. When a mutual signal is detected, it is often not known if selection occurred before or after populations split. Here we develop a method to detect genomic regions at which selection has favored different haplotypes in two populations. This method is verified through simulations and tested on small regions of the genome. This method was then expanded to scan the phase 3 genomes of the 1000 Genomes Project populations for regions in which the evidence for independent selection is strongest. We identify several genes which likely underwent selection independently in different populations.