5. Since the 1890s when northern elephant seals were hunted almost to extinction, the populations have increased to 30,000 animals. In a 1974 study of genetic variation, scientists found that all elephant seals are fixed for the same allele at 24 loci. Explain.
Genetic Variation
Genetic variation refers to the variation in the genome sequences between individual organisms of a species. Individual differences or population differences can both be referred to as genetic variations. It is primarily caused by mutation, but other factors such as genetic drift and sexual reproduction also play a major role.
Quantitative Genetics
Quantitative genetics is the part of genetics that deals with the continuous trait, where the expression of various genes influences the phenotypes. Thus genes are expressed together to produce a trait with continuous variability. This is unlike the classical traits or qualitative traits, where each trait is controlled by the expression of a single or very few genes to produce a discontinuous variation.
- The term "genetic variation" describes the variations in genetic make-up among members of the same species.
- Alleles are variants of a gene that can result in variations in a specific trait. A locus is the precise location of a gene on a chromosome.
- At a single locus, there may be several alleles, leading to variations in a specific trait.
- Evolutionary processes depend on genetic variation because it enables the selection of advantageous traits in dynamic environments.
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