Our latest paper https://elifesciences.org/articles/87335
directly measures the #EffectivePopulationSize that matters to #NearlyNeutralTheory / #DriftBarrier theory, as the degree to which #CodonBias differs from expectations from GC content. Surprisingly, stronger #NaturalSelection -> higher #IntrinsicStructuralDisorder proteins
#MolecularEvolution #PopulationGenetics #EvolgenPaper 1/
@JoannaMasel very cool! Do you have a sense how useful CAIS could be for estimating Ne for eukaryotic microbes? (Even roughly, say relative to vertebrates ). It seems that parameter has been super difficult to assess in those groups.
I recently did a small dip in this literature and now I have no clue how strong selective pressure is on the cells I care about (amoebae etc)!
@askennard That said, it might be tricky for prokaryotes with very little intergenic sequence to get equilibrium %GC from. Porting CAIS to that context would take more work and ingenuity.
@askennard A cool thing about CAIS as an Ne metric is that all you need to estimate it is a single genome, with complete proteome plus an estimate of intergenic %GC. This makes it way more accessible than conventional Ne metrics. I'll add this point to the thread!