Department of Biological Sciences, California State University San Marcos, San Marcos, California.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2019 Jan;19(1):23-26. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.12969.
Population geneticists often use multiple independent hypothesis tests of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE), Linkage Disequilibrium (LD), and population differentiation, to make broad inferences about their systems of choice. However, correcting for Family-Wise Error Rates (FWER) that are inflated due to multiple comparisons, is sparingly reported in our current literature. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, perform a meta-analysis of 215 population genetics studies published between 2011 and 2013 to show (i) scarce use of FWER corrections across all three classes of tests, and (ii) when used, inconsistent application of correction methods with a clear bias towards less-conservative corrections for tests of population differentiation, than for tests of HWE, and LD. Here we replicate this meta-analysis using 205 population genetics studies published between 2013 and 2018, to show the same continued disuse, and inconsistencies. We hope that both studies serve as a wake-up call to population geneticists, reviewers, and editors to be rigorous about consistently correcting for FWER inflation.
群体遗传学家经常使用多个独立的 Hardy-Weinberg 平衡（HWE）、连锁不平衡（LD）和群体分化的假设检验，对他们选择的系统进行广泛推断。然而，在我们当前的文献中，很少有报道对由于多次比较而膨胀的家族错误率（FWER）进行校正。在本期《分子生态学资源》中，对 2011 年至 2013 年期间发表的 215 项群体遗传学研究进行了荟萃分析，结果表明：（i）在所有三类检验中，FWER 校正的使用都很少；（ii）当使用 FWER 校正时，校正方法的应用不一致，对于群体分化检验，校正方法明显偏向于不那么保守的方法，而对于 HWE 和 LD 检验，则偏向于更保守的方法。在这里，我们使用 2013 年至 2018 年期间发表的 205 项群体遗传学研究重复了这项荟萃分析，结果表明同样的持续不使用和不一致。我们希望这两项研究都能引起群体遗传学家、评论家和编辑的重视，要求他们严格一致地纠正 FWER 膨胀问题。
