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Related Concept Videos

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

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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).
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Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Microinjection for Transgenesis and Genome Editing in Threespine Sticklebacks
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Complex Patterns of Hitchhiking Mutation Load Among Stickleback Populations.

Jana Nickel1, Jan Laine2, Andrew D Foote1

  • 1Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway.

Genome Biology and Evolution
|April 4, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Positive selection can sweep linked deleterious alleles to high frequency, increasing mutation load. In threespine stickleback, evidence suggests this occurs in some low-recombination regions like inversions.

Keywords:
adaptationdeleterious mutation loaddemographyinversionsweep

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary genetics
  • Population genetics
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Positive selection drives beneficial alleles to high frequency, potentially causing linked deleterious alleles to hitchhike.
  • Low recombination rates and population size influence the sweep of linked deleterious mutations.
  • Threespine stickleback exhibit repeated adaptation to freshwater, providing a model for studying hitchhiking effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of hitchhiking on mutation load in threespine stickleback.
  • To estimate mutation load in low-recombination genomic regions, including inversions and the Eda haplotype.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of mutation load in specific genomic regions associated with adaptation.
  • Examination of inversions and the Eda haplotype for accumulated deleterious alleles.
  • Assessment of deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in stickleback populations.

Main Results:

  • Some evidence suggests an increased accumulation of deleterious alleles in one inversion.
  • Two other inversions did not show this increased accumulation of deleterious alleles.
  • Inversions showed deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, with an excess of homozygotes observed in several populations.

Conclusions:

  • Hitchhiking may contribute to mutation load in specific low-recombination regions during adaptation.
  • The impact of hitchhiking on mutation load can vary across different genomic regions, such as inversions.
  • Observed deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium indicate non-random mating or selection pressures within these populations.