---
res:
  bibo_abstract:
  - Traits that affect organismal fitness are often highly genetically variable. This
    genetic variation is vital for populations to adapt to their environments, but
    it is also surprising given that nature – after all – ‘selects’ the best genotypes
    at the expense of those that fall short. Explaining the extensive genetic variation
    of fitness‐related traits is thus a longstanding puzzle in evolutionary biology,
    with cascading implications for ecology, conservation, and human health. Balancing
    selection – an umbrella term for scenarios in which natural selection maintains
    genetic variation – is a century‐old explanation to resolve this puzzle that has
    gained recent momentum from genome‐scale methods for detecting it. Yet evaluating
    whether balancing selection can, in fact, resolve the puzzle is challenging, given
    the logistical constraints of distinguishing balancing selection from alternative
    hypotheses and the daunting collection of theoretical models that formally underpin
    this debate. Here, we track the development of balancing selection theory over
    the last century and provide an accessible review of this rich collection of models.
    We first outline the range of biological scenarios that can generate balancing
    selection. We then examine how fundamental features of genetic systems – non‐random
    mating between individuals, ploidy levels, genetic drift, linkage, and genetic
    architectures of traits – have been progressively incorporated into the theory.
    We end by linking these theoretical predictions to ongoing empirical efforts to
    understand the evolutionary processes that explain genetic variation.@eng
  bibo_authorlist:
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Filip
      foaf_name: Ruzicka, Filip
      foaf_surname: Ruzicka
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=347955dd-57b0-11ee-9095-c28bdd368f4b
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Martyna K.
      foaf_name: Zwoinska, Martyna K.
      foaf_surname: Zwoinska
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Debora
      foaf_name: Goedert, Debora
      foaf_surname: Goedert
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Hanna
      foaf_name: Kokko, Hanna
      foaf_surname: Kokko
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Xiang‐Yi
      foaf_name: Li Richter, Xiang‐Yi
      foaf_surname: Li Richter
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Iain R.
      foaf_name: Moodie, Iain R.
      foaf_surname: Moodie
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Sofie
      foaf_name: Nilén, Sofie
      foaf_surname: Nilén
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Colin
      foaf_name: Olito, Colin
      foaf_surname: Olito
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Erik I.
      foaf_name: Svensson, Erik I.
      foaf_surname: Svensson
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Peter
      foaf_name: Czuppon, Peter
      foaf_surname: Czuppon
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Tim
      foaf_name: Connallon, Tim
      foaf_surname: Connallon
  bibo_doi: 10.1111/brv.70103
  bibo_issue: '2'
  bibo_volume: 101
  dct_date: 2026^xs_gYear
  dct_identifier:
  - UT:001614285900001
  dct_isPartOf:
  - http://id.crossref.org/issn/1464-7931
  - http://id.crossref.org/issn/1469-185X
  dct_language: eng
  dct_publisher: Wiley@
  dct_subject:
  - evolutionary theory
  - population genetics
  - balancing selection
  - heterozygote advantage
  - trade-offs
  - negative frequency-dependent selection
  - fitness variation
  - mathematical modelling
  dct_title: A century of theories of balancing selection@
  fabio_hasPubmedId: '41235821 '
...