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Related Concept Videos

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.
Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
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...
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
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SLiM: simulating evolution with selection and linkage.

Philipp W Messer1

  • 1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. messer@stanford.edu

Genetics
|May 28, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

SLiM is a population genetics simulation tool for studying selection and linkage on chromosomes. It handles complex demographic, selection, and genetic structures for detailed analysis.

Keywords:
background selectiongenetic hitchhikingpopulation genetic simulation

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Last Updated: May 11, 2026

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Published on: August 18, 2023

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Area of Science:

  • Population genetics
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Computational biology

Background:

  • Understanding the interplay of linkage and selection is crucial for evolutionary studies.
  • Simulating complex genetic scenarios requires efficient and flexible computational tools.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce SLiM, an efficient forward population genetic simulation software.
  • To enable the study of selection and linkage on a chromosome-wide scale.

Main Methods:

  • Forward population genetic simulation.
  • Incorporation of complex demographic models.
  • Modeling of selection, dominance, and gene structure.
  • Use of user-defined recombination maps.

Main Results:

  • SLiM provides an efficient platform for chromosome-wide population genetic simulations.
  • The software accommodates intricate scenarios including demography, substructure, and selection models.
  • Arbitrary gene structures and custom recombination maps are supported.

Conclusions:

  • SLiM is a versatile tool for investigating the evolutionary impact of selection and linkage.
  • Researchers can utilize SLiM for detailed simulations of complex population genetic processes.