Solutions For An Introduction to Genetic Analysis Chapter 18 Problem 6P

By observing the above figure, we can say that the people in Middle East seem to have higher heterozygosity, when compared to the people in East Asia. This could be due to various reasons.

Due to anthropological circumstances, the Middle East has a strong migratory history. The present population of the Middle East possesses some genetic characters inherited from many ancestral populations. The region of East Asia has lesser migration from regions like Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia.

In addition, genetic drift might have also played a role. Migration of humans out of Africa into the Middle East occurred long before East Asia was populated. The population in East Asia was established much later by migration from the region of the Middle East. With each migration, this would reduce the population size. A reduction in population size would lead to bottlenecks, which would ultimately lower the heterozygosity.

The populations which are established after two migrations would have lesser migration than those established after one migration.