QST FST comparisons with unbalanced half-sib designs

QST, a measure of quantitative genetic differentiation among populations, is an index that can suggest local adaptation if QST for a trait is sufficiently larger than the mean FST of neutral genetic markers. A previous method by Whitlock and Guillaume derived a simulation resampling approach to statistically test for a difference between QST and FST, but that method is limited to balanced data sets with offspring related as half-sibs through shared fathers. We extend this approach to (1) allow for a model more suitable for some plant populations or breeding designs in which offspring are related through mothers (assuming independent fathers for each offspring; half-sibs by dam), and (2) by explicitly allowing for unbalanced data sets. The resulting approach is made available through the R package QstFstComp.QST（种群间数量遗传分化指数）是用于衡量种群间数量遗传分化的指标，当某一性状的QST值显著高于中性遗传标记的平均FST（种群分化固定指数）值时，该指数可提示该性状存在局部适应现象。惠特洛克（Whitlock）与纪尧姆（Guillaume）此前提出的方法采用模拟重抽样策略，用于统计检验QST与FST间的差异，但该方法仅适用于子代以共享父本形成半同胞亲缘关系的平衡数据集。本研究对该方法进行了两方面拓展：(1) 适配更适用于部分植物种群或育种设计的模型，此类模型中，子代通过母本建立亲缘关系（假设每个子代的父本相互独立，即母系半同胞）；(2) 明确支持非平衡数据集的分析。本研究提出的拓展分析方法已通过R语言工具包QstFstComp实现公开可用。