Kingman’s coalescent

E776493

coalescent process mathematical model population genetics model stochastic process

Kingman’s coalescent is a fundamental stochastic model in population genetics that describes the ancestral genealogy of a sample of genes by tracing their lineages backward in time until they coalesce into common ancestors.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Kingman coalescent	2
Kingman’s coalescent canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T9084862 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Kingman’s coalescent
Context triple: [Sir John Kingman, notableWork, Kingman’s coalescent]

A. Coalescent
Coalescent is a science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter that explores themes of human evolution, secret societies, and deep time through a multigenerational narrative.
B. Evolution in Mendelian Populations
"Evolution in Mendelian Populations" is a foundational 1931 paper by Sewall Wright that introduced key concepts of population genetics, including genetic drift, inbreeding, and the shifting balance theory of evolution.
C. Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography
Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography is an influential ecological theory proposing that biodiversity patterns and species abundances can be explained by assuming ecological equivalence among individuals regardless of species.
D. Motoo Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution
Motoo Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution is a foundational concept in evolutionary biology proposing that most genetic variation and molecular changes are selectively neutral and shaped primarily by random genetic drift rather than natural selection.
E. nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution
The nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution is an extension of neutral theory that posits most evolutionary changes at the molecular level are due to mutations with very slight deleterious or advantageous effects whose fate is strongly influenced by genetic drift and population size.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Kingman’s coalescent
Target entity description: Kingman’s coalescent is a fundamental stochastic model in population genetics that describes the ancestral genealogy of a sample of genes by tracing their lineages backward in time until they coalesce into common ancestors.

A. Coalescent
Coalescent is a science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter that explores themes of human evolution, secret societies, and deep time through a multigenerational narrative.
B. Evolution in Mendelian Populations
"Evolution in Mendelian Populations" is a foundational 1931 paper by Sewall Wright that introduced key concepts of population genetics, including genetic drift, inbreeding, and the shifting balance theory of evolution.
C. Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography
Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography is an influential ecological theory proposing that biodiversity patterns and species abundances can be explained by assuming ecological equivalence among individuals regardless of species.
D. Motoo Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution
Motoo Kimura's neutral theory of molecular evolution is a foundational concept in evolutionary biology proposing that most genetic variation and molecular changes are selectively neutral and shaped primarily by random genetic drift rather than natural selection.
E. nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution
The nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution is an extension of neutral theory that posits most evolutionary changes at the molecular level are due to mutations with very slight deleterious or advantageous effects whose fate is strongly influenced by genetic drift and population size.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	coalescent process ⓘ mathematical model ⓘ population genetics model ⓘ stochastic process ⓘ
assumes	binary mergers of ancestral lineages ⓘ exchangeable individuals ⓘ large constant effective population size ⓘ neutral evolution ⓘ
describes	ancestral genealogy of a sample of genes ⓘ genealogical tree of sampled individuals ⓘ
extendedBy	coalescent with recombination ⓘ coalescent with selection ⓘ structured coalescent ⓘ variable population size coalescent ⓘ
field	mathematical biology ⓘ population genetics ⓘ probability theory ⓘ
generalizedBy	Λ-coalescent ⓘ Ξ-coalescent ⓘ
hasApplication	human genetic variation studies ⓘ viral phylodynamics ⓘ
hasConcept	genealogy of a sample ⓘ most recent common ancestor ⓘ
hasProperty	Markov process in continuous time ⓘ at most two lineages coalesce at a time ⓘ coalescence rate for any pair of lineages is constant ⓘ non-overlapping generations in standard derivation ⓘ population is panmictic ⓘ population size is effectively constant ⓘ sample size is finite ⓘ starts with n lineages and ends with a most recent common ancestor ⓘ time is measured backward from the present ⓘ total coalescence rate when k lineages remain is k(k−1)/2 times the pairwise rate ⓘ waiting times between coalescent events are exponentially distributed ⓘ
introducedIn	early 1980s ⓘ
isLimitOf	Moran model as population size tends to infinity ⓘ Wright–Fisher model as population size tends to infinity ⓘ
models	coalescence of ancestral lineages ⓘ lineages traced backward in time ⓘ
namedAfter	John F. C. Kingman ⓘ
relatedTo	Moran model ⓘ Wright–Fisher model ⓘ
usedFor	Bayesian phylogenetic inference ⓘ computing likelihoods of genetic data ⓘ estimating effective population size ⓘ estimating mutation rates ⓘ inference of population genetic parameters ⓘ inferring demographic history ⓘ modeling genealogies under neutrality ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sir John Kingman → notableWork → Kingman’s coalescent ⓘ

John Kingman → notableFor → Kingman coalescent ⓘ

subject linked to: Kingman

linked to: Kingman’s coalescent