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Related Concept Videos

Natural Selection and Adaptation01:15

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, is the mechanism by which evolution is driven, favoring organisms that are best adapted to their environments. This process enhances their chances of survival and reproduction. Adaptation, a key outcome of this process, involves genetic modifications that optimize an organism's functionality under specific environmental challenges, such as extreme cold or thinner air at high altitudes.
Beyond physical adaptations, psychological...
Limits to Natural Selection01:38

Limits to Natural Selection

Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, redtusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for redtusks, natural selection cannot increase the prevalence of...
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss01:57

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
Transduction01:16

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...
What is Natural Selection?01:32

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Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation
04:43

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Adaptation - not by sweeps alone.

Jonathan K Pritchard1, Anna Di Rienzo

  • 1Department of Human Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Chicago, Illinois 60615, USA. pritch@uchicago.edu

Nature Reviews. Genetics
|September 15, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers are improving methods to detect genetic adaptations. However, many adaptations, such as polygenic adaptation, may be missed by current selection detection techniques.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Population genetics

Background:

  • Recent advancements in identifying selective sweeps have been made.
  • Selective sweeps are crucial for understanding adaptations in natural populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the limitations of conventional methods in detecting polygenic adaptation.
  • To propose that polygenic adaptation may be a common mode of evolutionary change.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current methodologies for detecting selection.
  • Theoretical considerations of polygenic adaptation.

Main Results:

  • Conventional methods primarily detect strong selection acting on single genes.
  • Polygenic adaptation, involving many genes with small effects, is likely underestimated.
  • Existing methods may fail to identify the majority of adaptive events.

Conclusions:

  • A significant portion of adaptive evolution in natural populations may be driven by polygenic adaptation.
  • New methods are needed to accurately detect polygenic adaptation.
  • Rethinking current approaches to selection detection is essential for a comprehensive understanding of evolution.