---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '21968'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Balancing selection, a form of selection that maintains genetic diversity,
    is difficult to detect, and the importance of balancing selection for the maintenance
    of genetic variation may be larger than often assumed. We model the possibility
    that the diversity-promoting effects of balancing selection extend to other loci
    that show sign epistasis with a locus under balancing selection. Rather than focusing
    on overdominance, as was done in previous efforts, we explore the effects of negative
    frequency dependence and show that this has important effects on the conditions
    under which the diversity-promoting effect of epistasis can occur in diploids.
    Our results show that not only recombination rate but also the dominance of sign
    epistasis are key parameters that determine the maintenance of polymorphism beyond
    the locus under direct balancing selection. We suggest that the effect we explore
    may play a significant role, especially when balancing selection acts on major
    effect loci.
acknowledgement: This work was funded by grants from the Swedish Research Council
  (2023-03730 to G.A.) and the DOC fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Science
  (26293 to K.K.).
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Kseniia
  full_name: Khudiakova, Kseniia
  id: 4E6DC800-AE37-11E9-AC72-31CAE5697425
  last_name: Khudiakova
  orcid: 0000-0002-6246-1465
- first_name: Nicholas H
  full_name: Barton, Nicholas H
  id: 4880FE40-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Barton
  orcid: 0000-0002-8548-5240
- first_name: Goran
  full_name: Arnqvist, Goran
  last_name: Arnqvist
citation:
  ama: Khudiakova K, Barton NH, Arnqvist G. Sign epistasis extends the effects of
    balancing selection on genetic diversity. <i>bioRxiv</i>. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826">10.1101/2025.04.09.647826</a>
  apa: Khudiakova, K., Barton, N. H., &#38; Arnqvist, G. (n.d.). Sign epistasis extends
    the effects of balancing selection on genetic diversity. <i>bioRxiv</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826">https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826</a>
  chicago: Khudiakova, Kseniia, Nicholas H Barton, and Goran Arnqvist. “Sign Epistasis
    Extends the Effects of Balancing Selection on Genetic Diversity.” <i>BioRxiv</i>,
    n.d. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826">https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826</a>.
  ieee: K. Khudiakova, N. H. Barton, and G. Arnqvist, “Sign epistasis extends the
    effects of balancing selection on genetic diversity,” <i>bioRxiv</i>. .
  ista: Khudiakova K, Barton NH, Arnqvist G. Sign epistasis extends the effects of
    balancing selection on genetic diversity. bioRxiv, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826">10.1101/2025.04.09.647826</a>.
  mla: Khudiakova, Kseniia, et al. “Sign Epistasis Extends the Effects of Balancing
    Selection on Genetic Diversity.” <i>BioRxiv</i>, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826">10.1101/2025.04.09.647826</a>.
  short: K. Khudiakova, N.H. Barton, G. Arnqvist, BioRxiv (n.d.).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-06-09T12:26:11Z
date_published: 2026-04-23T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-12T12:43:34Z
day: '23'
department:
- _id: NiBa
- _id: JaMa
doi: 10.1101/2025.04.09.647826
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647826
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
project:
- _id: 34d33d68-11ca-11ed-8bc3-ec13763c0ca8
  grant_number: '26293'
  name: The impact of deleterious mutations on small populations
publication: bioRxiv
publication_status: draft
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '21918'
    relation: dissertation_contains
    status: public
status: public
title: Sign epistasis extends the effects of balancing selection on genetic diversity
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by_nc.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
  short: CC BY-NC (4.0)
type: preprint
user_id: 8b945eb4-e2f2-11eb-945a-df72226e66a9
year: '2026'
...