Optimal Reference Panel Design in Ancient DNA Imputation from Coalescent Theory ... - PMC
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Coalescent theory — the math of how DNA lineages merge backward in time — is being used to crack one of ancient genomics' hardest problems: how to fill in missing genetic data from degraded prehistoric samples.
Coalescent TheoryPopulation GeneticsStatistical ImputationAncestral Recombination Graph
Theory Briefing
- Ancient DNA is fragmented and incomplete, making imputation — statistically inferring missing variants — essential for large-scale genomic studies.
- Coalescent theory models how gene lineages converge ancestrally, revealing which reference panel designs best capture ancient haplotype diversity.
- Simulations confirm that large modern panels can underperform bespoke ancient panels, because modern genomes don't reflect extinct ancestral population structure.