What is Arlequin ?

Arlequin is an exploratory population genetics software environment able to handle large samples of molecular data (RFLPs, DNA sequences, microsatellites), while retaining the capacity of analyzing conventional genetic data (standard multi-locus data or mere allele frequency data).

A variety of population genetics methods have been implemented either at the intra-population or at the inter-population level, and they can be conveniently selected and parameterized through a graphical interface.

Arlequin has no equivalent in his field and will be extremely useful to analyzed the large data sets which are now available by the use of the latest molecular engineering techniques.

Arlequin's Versatility

Arlequin has been designed to be able to handle different types of molecular or conventional (non-molecular or frequency-type) data. It can also handle data either presented in the form of genotype frequencies, or the form of haplotype frequencies, as well as the possibility of treating codominant or recessive data (with the definition of a single recessive allele per locus).

Molecular data can be analyzed by entering their definition (as DNA sequences, RFLP haplotypes, microsatellite profiles, or multilocus haplotypes), or by entering a distance matrix defining the relationships among the haplotypes (as was done with our previous AMOVA software). The data format is specified in an input file.

Arlequin's Graphic User Interface

The graphic interface of Arlequin 2.000 has been entirely redesigned. It is written in Java in order to present a consistent look and behavior across different platforms. Due to the fact that Java is interpreted on most machines, Arlequin may be a bit slower to respond than earlier versions.

The graphic interface is now completely separated from the core routines written in C++, to preserve computing speed. The graphic interface make a call to the compiled core routines when pressing the Run button of the interface.

The interface allows you to :

• load a project into Arlequin
• create a new project from scratch
• mport data from other formats
• select the different tasks you want to perform on your data
• start and stop the computations
• call a custom text editor to modify your project
• call a web browser to read or print your results
• call the help file as an Adobe PDF file