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Related Concept Videos

Frequency-dependent Selection

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.

Types of Selection

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...

Genetic Drift

Genetic Drift

Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.

Multiple Allele Traits

Multiple Allele Traits

The Concept of Multiple Allelism

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Diploid organisms have two alleles of each gene, one from each parent, in their somatic cells. Therefore, each individual contributes two alleles to the gene pool of the population. The gene pool of a population is the sum of every allele of all genes within that population and has some degree of variation. Genetic variation is typically expressed as a relative frequency, which is the percentage of the total population that has a given allele, genotype or phenotype.

Law of Segregation

Law of Segregation

When crossing pea plants, Mendel noticed that one of the parental traits would sometimes disappear in the first generation of offspring, called the F1 generation, and could reappear in the next generation (F2). He concluded that one of the traits must be dominant over the other, thereby causing masking of one trait in the F1 generation. When he crossed the F1 plants, he found that 75% of the offspring in the F2 generation had the dominant phenotype, while 25% had the recessive phenotype.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2025

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

The divergence of mean phenotypes under persistent Gaussian selection.

Michael Lynch¹, Scott Menor¹

¹Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.

|February 25, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Population genetics reveals that factors like genetic drift, mutation bias, and the number of genes can shift mean phenotypes away from optimal traits. These evolutionary pressures can significantly alter population genetic dynamics and trait evolution.

Keywords:

Gaussian selection evolutionary divergence mutation bias phenotypic divergence phenotypic scaling random genetic drift selective interference stabilizing selection

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Population Genetics

Background:

Multigenic traits are often assumed to be under stabilizing selection.
However, population-genetic factors can shift phenotypes away from optima, creating directional selection landscapes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how population-genetic factors influence evolved mean phenotypes in asexual populations.
To understand the scaling of phenotypic deviations with selection, drift, mutation bias, and optimum location.

Main Methods:

Theoretical modeling of an asexual population.
Analysis of factors including selection strength, genetic drift, number of linked sites, mutation bias, and fitness landscape optima.

Main Results:

Deviations from optima occur due to selection, drift, and mutation bias.
Mutation influences evolved phenotypes even without bias, unless the optimum matches the neutral mean.
Directional mutation bias and many selected sites reduce effective population size (Ne) via interference, increasing phenotypic mismatches.
Optimum location relative to genotypic space influences phenotypic gradients with respect to Ne.

Conclusions:

Phenotypic means can vary significantly among populations with identical pressures but different Ne.
Understanding these scaling relationships is crucial for predicting trait evolution based on genetic system features.