Fitness is, most correctly, a technical term. What does it mean? What two things do you suppose govern the rate of evolution by natural selection? Explain how Darwinian evolution can decrease and increase the frequency of an allele

Assume that gene T is closely linked to gene U. Two different alleles of T exist in the population. Allele t1 confers resistance to severe forms of COVID-19, while allele t2 does not; these alleles do not confer other notable phenotypes. Two different alleles of U exist in the population: u1 and u2, none of which makes any difference in terms of fitness. The makeup of chromosomes in a human population is Genotype Frequency t1 u1 300 t2 u1 300 t1 u2 50 t2 u2 350 What is the frequency of the u2 allele in the population? Write that frequency as a number between 0 and 1 (e.g. 0.5 if the frequency is 50%).

House mouse (Mus musculus) Gene of interest: B4galnt2 (encodes glycosyltransferase enzyme) • Allele R: Associated with prolonged bleeding due to issues with blood clotting; associated with resistance to bacterial infections due to absence of intestinal expression. Allele C: Associated with increased susceptibility to bacterial infections; not associated with prolonged bleeding. A B C The population is closed; there are no new mice coming in. The cages are setup to allow for random mating. The B4galnt2 gene is not associated with any mating preferences or non-random mating patterns. Studies have shown that mutations in this locus are extremely rare. The population is EXTREMELY large. The population is kept in well maintained environment, free of bacterial infections. The mouse food is supplemented with a low dose of blood coagulator, which helps the blood clot and eliminates any prolonged bleeding. None of the genotypes display any side effects to this medication. The population is…

Which of the following comparisons of relative fitness for the M locus would most likely result in the fixation (frequency of 1 ) of the M allele after many generations of evolution. A. w(MM) = w(Mm) < w(mm) B. w(MM) < w(Mm) > w(mm) C. w(MM) = w(Mm) = w(mm) D. w(MM) > w(Mm) = w(mm)

1. Fitness is, most correctly, a technical term. What does it mean? What two things do you suppose govern the rate of evolution by natural selection? Explain how Darwinian evolution can decrease and increase the frequency of an allele (or a more complex heritable trait, for that matter).