The UMR (unité mixte de recherche in French) “Ecological Anthropology” is a joint lab partnered with the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) and the Université Paris 7.
AUSTERLITZ Frédéric
AUSTERLITZ Frédéric
Directeur de Recherche
Affiliated entity
UMR 7206 - Anthropologie Génétique (AGène)
Interdisciplinary research theme
Population Genetics - Modelling
Researches
Accreditation to supervise research
Speciality
Population Genetics
Contact
Website(s)
E-mail
Phone
+33 (0)1.44.05.72.57
Responsibilities in the research group
2019- Coordinator of the team "Genetic Anthropology"
2019- Nominated member of the Laboratory Council of UMR 7206 Éco-anthropologie
2014-2018 Elected member of the Laboratory Council of UMR 7206 Éco-anthropologie
2014-2018 Co-Coordinator of the team "Evolutionary Anthropology"
Responsibilities outside the research group
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural Histoty)
2019- Alternate elected member of the Scientific Council of the National Museum of Natural History
2018- Scientific co-coordinator of the intensive computing platform
2018- Elected member of the Council of the "Man and Environment" Department
Other institutions
2019- Member of the Scientific Council of the GDR 3765 "Approche Interdisciplinaire de l'Evolution Moléculaire"
Editorial board memberships
2012– Molecular Ecology and Molecular Ecology Resources (associate editor)
2009–2012 Journal of Evolutionary Biology (reviewing editor)
Selected Publications
(full publication list below or see my Google Scholar page)
- Jay F, Boitard S, Austerlitz F 2019. An ABC method for whole-genome sequence data: inferring Paleolithic and Neolithic human expansions. Molecular Biology and Evolution 36: 1565-1579. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msz038
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Thouzeau V, Mennecier P, Verdu P*, Austerlitz F* 2017. Genetic and linguistic histories in Central Asia inferred using approximate Bayesian computations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 284: 20170706. doi: 10.1098/Rspb.2017.0706
- Boitard S., Rodriguez W., Jay F., Mona S., Austerlitz F. (2016) Inferring population size history from large samples of genome wide molecular data - an approximate Bayesian computation approach. PLoS Genetics 12 : e1005877. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1005877
- Verdu P., Becker N. S. A., Froment A., Georges M., Grugni V., Quintana-Murci L., Hombert J.-M., Van der Veen L., Le Bomin S., Bahuchet S., Heyer E. & Austerlitz F. (2013) Sociocultural behavior, sex-biased admixture and effective population sizes in Central African Pygmies and non-Pygmies. Molecular Biology and Evolution 30 : 918-937. doi:10.1093/molbev/mss328
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Palstra, F. P., Heyer, E., & Austerlitz, F. (2015). Statistical inference on genetic data reveals the complex demographic history of human populations in central Asia. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 32(6), 1411-1424. doi:10.1093/molbev/msv030
- Aimé C., Laval G., Patin E., Verdu P., Ségurel L., Chaix R., Hegay T., Quintana-Murci L., Heyer E. & Austerlitz F. (2013) Human genetic data reveal contrasting demographic patterns between sedentary and nomadic populations, predating the emergence of farming. Molecular Biology and Evolution 30 : 2629–2644. doi:10.1093/molbev/mst156
- Fontaine M. C., Snirc A., Frantzis A., Koutrakis E., Ozturk B., Ozturk A. A. & Austerlitz, F. (2012) History of expansion and anthropogenic collapse in a top marine predator of the Black Sea estimated from genetic data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109 : E2569-E2576. doi:10.1073/pnas.1201258109
- Austerlitz F.*, Gleiser G.*, Teixeira S. & Bernasconi G. (2012) The effects of inbreeding, genetic dissimilarity and phenotype on male reproductive success in a dioecious plant. Proceedings of the Royal Society B : Biological Sciences 279 : 91-100. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0652
- Blum M. G. B., Heyer E., François O. & Austerlitz F. (2006) Matrilineal fertility inheritance detected in hunter-gatherer populations using the imbalance of gene genealogies. PLoS Genetics 2 : e122. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0020122
- Austerlitz F., Dick C. W., Dutech C., Klein E. K., Oddou-Muratorio S., Smouse P. E. & Sork V. L. (2004) Using genetic markers to estimate the pollen dispersal curve. Molecular Ecology 13 : 937-954. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02100.x
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Dick CW, Etchelecu G, Austerlitz F. 2003. Pollen dispersal of tropical trees (Dinizia excelsa: Fabaceae) by native insects and African honeybees in pristine and fragmented Amazonian rainforest. Molecular Ecology 12:753-764. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2003.01760.x
- Austerlitz F. & Heyer E. (1998) Social transmission of reproductive behavior increases frequency of inherited disorders in a young-expanding population. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA 95 : 15140-15144.
Appointments
- 2012– CNRS Research director. Laboratoire Éco-anthropologie, Paris, France.
- 2010–2012 CNRS Research associate. Laboratoire Éco-anthropologie, Paris, France.
- 2002–2010 CNRS Research associate. Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Orsay, France
- 2000–2002 Researcher at INRA Bordeaux (France).
- 1999–2000 Postdoctoral fellow. Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ, USA). Supervisor Peter Smouse. Subject : “Estimation of instantaneous pollen flow”.
Education
- 2005 Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches (Specific French diploma allowing to supervise PhD Students). Diploma delivered by Université Paris-Sud.
- 1995–1999 PhD thesis in population genetics at the Université de Paris-Sud (Orsay, France). Subject : “On the impact of demographic processes on genetic diversity” (Supervisors P.-H. Gouyon and E. Heyer).
- 1994–1995 D.E.A. (Master Degree) in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution. Université Paris-Sud (Orsay, France).
- 1993–1995 Ecole du Génie Rural des Eaux and Forets (French school for water, Forests and Environment Engineering)
- 1990–1993 Ecole Polytechnique (Polytechnic School)
Main research grants
- 2020–2022. European Union. Marie-Curie grant PATTERNS “Detecting polygenic adaptation targeting gene expression regulation in humans using eQTL networks”.(coordinator) .Funds the postdoc of Maud Fagny
- 2014–2018 Agence Nationale de la Recherche, grant AGHRUM « Evaluating mechanisms of genetic adaptation to rapid environmental changes : agriculture and the human model » (partner).
- 2013–2015. Labex BCDiv grant « Inferring natural selection from large scale genetic data » (coordinator).
- 2013–2015. Agence Nationale de la Recherche, grant Demochips « Inference of demographic history from large DNA polymorphism data » (coordinator).
- 2008–2011. Agence Nationale de la Recherche, grant NUTGENEVOL « Deciphering the complex evolution of genes involved in human adaptation to diet » (partner).
- 2006–2010. European Network of Excellence EVOLTREE (partner).
PhD students
- Léa Bouteille (joint supervision with Laure Ségurel and Marianne Elias)
- Jérémy Guez (joint supervision with Evelyne Heyer and Flora Jay)
Postdocs
Former students
- Christophe Coste (with Samuel Pavard)
- Valentin Thouzeau (with Paul Verdu)
- Carla Aimé
- Jean-Tristan Brandenburg (with Bruno Toupance)
- Michaël Blum (with Olivier François)
- Raphaëlle Chaix (with Evelyne Heyer)
Former postdocs
Software
- Poldisp : a software package for indirect estimation of contemporary pollen dispersal.
- Mathematica notebooks for the joint estimation of the growth rate and the age of mutations. (ref. : Austerlitz et al 2003 Genetics 165 : 1579-1586)
- PopSizeABC : a package allowing to estimate population size histories from large samples of genome wide SNP data using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC)
- PopLingSim : a program for the simulation of linguistic data.
- DemoSEQ: Inferring demographic history from whole-genome sequence data using summary statistics
Teaching
Current teaching
2012– Genetic drift or the random sorting of variants through demographic processes. Module “Evolution mecanisms”. MNHN doctoral school (4 hours/year).
2004– Module « Evolutionary genetics » for Master EBE 1st year Ecole Normale Supérieure (3 to 9 hours/year). Bases, Coalescent theory, measure of population structure, with computer practical (joint organiser of the module).
Past teaching
2011 Lectures and computer practicals « Methods for the statistical analysis of siring success and relatedness in plants and animals ». (12 hours). University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Performed in English.
2010–2014 Lecture « Genetic Differences between humans and chimpanzees ». Master 1st year at MNHN (2 hours/year)
2010–2013 Lecture “Bases of population genetics”. Module “Human genetics and infectious diseases”. Institut Pasteur, Paris. (1.5 hour/year)
2009–2013 Lecture « Impact of demographic processes on genetic diversity and the frequency of genetic diseases » performed in Master 1st year of Medicine, University Paris VII (2 hours/year).
2009 Lecture for PhD students, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland (1 hour). « Inference of demographic processes from genetic diversity in humans ». Performed in English.
2009 Lecture and practical on computer « Two-generation analysis of pollen flow across a landscape » for PhD students and scientists funded by the European Network of Excellence EVOLTREE. University of Bydgoszcz, Poland (6 hours). Performed in English.
2009 Lecture for PhD students, University of Sendai, Japan (1 hour). « Inference of demographic processes from genetic diversity using coalescent methods in humans ». Performed in English.
2008–2013 Lecture for PhD students at MNHN. Module on DNA Barcoding. Lecture on the comparison between available methods for DNA barcoding. (3 hours/year). Performed in English.
2006–2009 European courses ERAMUS « Mathematics in Plant Biology » for PhD students Lectures and computer practicals in population genetics modelling (3 hours). Performed in English.
2005–2008 Population genetics. Methods for the detection of adaptation from population genetics data. Master 2nd year « Multifactorial genetics » (3 hours/year).
2004– Master 2nd year Module « Population Genomics » (3 to 9 hours/year). Advanced coalescent theory, methods for estimating demographic parameters from genetic data. Performed in English some years. (joint organiser of the module).
2002–2006 Population genetics (3 hours/year) at Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon (1st year). Coalescent theory.
1997–2003 Population genetics (3 hours/year) at master Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution (Universities Paris VI, VII, XI, I.N.A.-P.G., M.N.H.N.). Coalescent theory.
1996–1998 Population genetics at E.N.G.R.E.F. (1st year) Bases et coalescent theory (3 to 6 hours/year).
1995–1996 Computer science for undergraduate students at Université Paris-Sud, Orsay. 24 hours/year.
Publications
2019
- , July 2019 — The Genetic Architecture of Chronic Mountain Sickness in Peru. Frontiers in Genetics. Vol. 10, dir. Frontiers, p. 690.ISSN:1664-8021
- , July 2019 — An ABC Method for Whole-Genome Sequence Data: Inferring Paleolithic and Neolithic Human Expansions. Molecular Biology and Evolution. Vol. 36, n° 7, dir. Oxford University Press (OUP), p. 1565-1579.ISSN:0737-4038
- , July 2019 — Xeroderma pigmentosum in South Africa: Evidence for a prevalent founder effect. British Journal of Dermatology. Vol. 181, n° 5, dir. Wiley, p. 1070-1072.ISSN:0007-0963
- , 2019 — An Evaluation of The Methods to Estimate Effective Population Size From Measures of linkage Disequilibrium. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 32, n° 3, p. 267-277.
2018
- , December 2018 — Cryptic Biological Invasions: a General Model of Hybridization. Scientific Reports. Vol. 8, n° 1.
- , 2018 — Neutral Theory : From Complex Population History to Natural Selection and Sociocultural Phenomena in Human Populations. Molecular Biology and Evolution. Vol. 35, n° 6, p. 1304-1307.
- , 2018 — Cryptic Biological Invasions: A General Model of Hybridization. Scientific Reports. Vol. 8, n° 1, p. 2414.
2017
- , 2017 — Different Kinds of Genetic Markers Permit Inference of Paleolithic and Neolithic Expansions in Humans. European Journal of Human Genetics. Vol. 25, n° 3, p. 360-365.
- , 2017 — The Historical Spread of Arabian Pastoralists to the Eastern African Sahel Evidenced by the Lactase Persistence -13,915*G Allele and Mitochondrial DNA. American Journal of Human Biology. Vol. 29.
- , 2017 — Genetic and Linguistic Histories in Central Asia Inferred Using Approximate Bayesian Computations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. Vol. 284, n° 1861, p. 20170706.