Reference Population Panel
Definition
A georeferenced dataset of sequences from known collection localities, used as the comparison baseline when the provenance of a forensic specimen is unknown.
- Content
- Georeferenced sequence data from known collection localities
- Use
- Baseline for provenance assignment of unknown specimens
- Field
- Population genetics applied to forensic entomology
Common questions
What limits the accuracy of a geographic origin call from a reference population panel?+
Assignment accuracy depends on how densely and evenly the panel samples the species' range; sparse coverage in a region produces wide or unreliable origin estimates there, so a confident geographic call requires the panel to already include populations near the true source.
Is a reference population panel specific to one species?+
Yes, panels are built per species because population genetic structure, and therefore the geographic markers that distinguish localities, differs from one organism to the next, so a panel built for one insect species cannot be reused for another.
Related terms
- Body Movement Inference
- The forensic application: using the population-genetic signature of insects collected from a body to estimate where colonisation occurred, and therefore potentially where...
- Gene Flow
- The movement of alleles between populations through migration and reproduction. High gene flow homogenises populations; low gene flow allows them to differentiate...
- Genetic Structure
- The degree to which populations within a species are genetically differentiated from each other. Measured by statistics like Fst (fixation index). High...
- Haplotype
- A specific set of genetic variants inherited together, typically used here for mitochondrial DNA variants. Different geographic populations of the same species...
- Phylogeography
- The study of the geographic distribution of genetic lineages within and among closely related species. Provides the reference maps that forensic population...