What does it mean if the allele frequency in a population consistently changes?
1 Answer
Jul 26, 2017
When allele frequency in a population consistently changes it means the population is evolving.
Explanation:
Evolution is defined as a change in frequency of alleles in a gene pool over a period of time. This is evolution on a small scale, hence could be termed microevoluion.
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This could be due to addition of new alleles through gene flow, or due to mutation.
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The reason could also be selection of favourable alleles. Frequency of favourable alleles will increase gradually within a population due to natural selection.
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Allele frequency may also change in a small newly established population due to an initial sampling error when some alleles were lost for ever by chance i.e. due to genetic drift.