Coalescent theory tells us what gene genealogies are expected to look like if populations have different demographic histories. Coalescent Theory has in the last two decades moved from being an obscure technique that appealed to mathematical population geneticists to a central tool in data analysis of DNA sequences.
Preface; The basic coalescent; From genealogies to sequences; Trees and topologies; Extensions to the basic coalescent; The coalescent with recombination; Getting parameters from data; LD Mapping and the coalescent; Human evolution; Appendix: Web based tools
This book fills a very important gap, as the first general textbook to deal exclusively with coalescent theory. Systematic Biology this book should be mandatory reading for any graduate student working on population-level molecular data. Evolution an excellent and timely book that should appeal to a variety of people in genetics and applied mathematics. Professor Montgomery Slatkin (Berkeley) the authors are outstanding experts in the field, and the book is topical and timely. Professor David Balding (Imperial College) Hein, Schierup and Wiuf have written the first general book on the coalescent. It is an engaging combination of clear mathematical derivation and real data examples. Professor Joe Felsenstein (University of Washington) There has been a dire need for a good book introducing coalescent theory to biologists. Gene Genealogies,Variation and Evolution fills this important gap this book should be mandatory reading for any graduate student working on population-level molecular data. Evolution 60/1