The original source of new alleles, upon which selection operates,is mutation, a random event that occurs without regard to selectionalvalue in the organism. Although many model organismshave been used to study mutational events in populations, someinvestigators have developed abiotic molecular models. Soll et al.(2006. Genetics 175:267–275) examined one such model to studythe relationship between both deleterious and advantageousmutations and population size in a ligase molecule composed ofRNA (a ribozyme). Soll found that the smaller the population ofmolecules, the more likely it was that not only deleterious mutationsbut also advantageous mutations would disappear. Whywould population size influence the survival of both types ofmutations (deleterious and advantageous) in populations?
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 original source of new alleles, upon which selection operates,
is mutation, a random event that occurs without regard to selectional
value in the organism. Although many model organisms
have been used to study mutational events in populations, some
investigators have developed abiotic molecular models. Soll et al.
(2006. Genetics 175:267–275) examined one such model to study
the relationship between both deleterious and advantageous
mutations and
RNA (a ribozyme). Soll found that the smaller the population of
molecules, the more likely it was that not only deleterious mutations
but also advantageous mutations would disappear. Why
would population size influence the survival of both types of
mutations (deleterious and advantageous) in populations?
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