Population genetics: an introduction for physicists

TL;DR

This paper provides an accessible introduction to population genetics tailored for physicists, covering fundamental concepts, historical context, and stochastic models to bridge biology and physics.

Contribution

It offers a concise, physics-oriented overview of population genetics, including key theories, models, and biological background for physicists new to the field.

Findings

Clarifies Darwinian natural selection and Mendelian inheritance for physicists

Introduces stochastic effects in populations using Wright-Fisher model

Provides foundational knowledge linking physics and evolutionary biology

Abstract

Population genetics lies at the heart of evolutionary theory. This topic forms part of many biological science curricula but is rarely taught to physics students. Since physicists are becoming increasingly interested in biological evolution, we aim to provide a brief introduction to population genetics, written for physicists. We start with two background chapters: chapter 1 provides a brief historical introduction to the topic, while chapter 2 provides some essential biological background. We begin our main content with chapter 3 which discusses the key concepts behind Darwinian natural selection and Mendelian inheritance. Chapter 4 covers the basics of how variation is maintained in populations, while chapter 5 discusses mutation and selection. In chapter 6 we discuss stochastic effects in population genetics using the Wright-Fisher model as our example, and finally we offer concluding thoughts and references to excellent textbooks in chapter 7.