What are neutral alleles?

a form of a gene that when carried in an organism in no way alters the FITNESS of that individual to survive and reproduce.

What is an effectively neutral allele?

In population genetics there is the concept of the effectively neutral allele. This is a Mendelian allele whose effects on fitness are so small that the fixation rates of such alleles are effectively the same as an allele with no effects on fitness, i.e. a strictly neutral allele.

What does neutral theory state?

The neutral theory of molecular evolution contends that most evolutionary change at the molecular level is driven by genetic drift rather than natural selection. The neutral theory can be contrasted with the idea that almost all molecular evolution has been driven by natural selection.

What is a type of neutral mutation?

In population genetics, mutations in which natural selection does not affect the spread of the mutation in a species are termed neutral mutations. Neutral mutations that are inheritable and not linked to any genes under selection will either be lost or will replace all other alleles of the gene.

How does effective population size relate to genetic drift quizlet?

Some properties of random genetic drift: Magnitude inversely proportional to Effective Population Size (Ne). The probability of fixation of a neutral allele is equal to its frequency in the population. Will cause isolated populations to diverge genetically.

Can neutral alleles evolve?

The neutral theory of molecular evolution holds that most evolutionary changes occur at the molecular level, and most of the variation within and between species, are due to random genetic drift of mutant alleles that are selectively neutral.

Is most genetic variation neutral?

The neutral theory of molecular evolution, proposed in the late 1960s (Kimura 1968; King and Jukes 1969), holds that most genetic variation at the molecular level is evolutionarily neutral, the product of mutation, migration, drift, and mating systems rather than selection.

Which is an example of a low allele frequency?

For example, many recessive traits that are deleterious “hide” in a population. This can mean that while it appears to exist at really low levels, it is in fact just hiding in the hybrids of the population. Other times, a new beneficial mutation will have a very low allele frequency.

Is it possible for an allele to be neutral?

Note that the smaller a population the stronger genetic drift and therefore the greater potential that an allele will be neutral. That is, even alleles that are beneficial or detrimental at higher population sizes can be neutral at lower population sizes and vice versa .

Why are P and Q the only alleles in the population?

In a simplified scenario, p and q are the only alleles in the population, and the population is not developing any mutations. If this is the case, the sum of the allele frequencies of p and q must equal 1 because with only two alleles the combined frequency must equal 100%.

How does the frequency of alleles change over time?

Allele frequency can change over time as evolution acts upon a population and the population adapts by increasing or decreasing the frequency of certain alleles. Calculating allele frequencies is a complex topic, which combines aspects of math and genetics. In general, all of the alleles in a population add up to 100%.