EvolutionMedium NEET PriorityClass 12

Genetic Drift

Genetic drift is the random change in allele frequencies in a population due to chance events, not natural selection. It has a stronger effect in small populations. Two types are founder effect (new population from few individuals) and bottleneck effect (population size drastically reduced).

Key Points for NEET

1Random, non-adaptive evolutionary mechanism
2More significant in small populations
3Can lead to loss of genetic variation
4Founder effect: new colony from few individuals
5Bottleneck effect: population drastically reduced

Example

Amish community having high frequency of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome due to founder effect

Asked in NEET

NEET 2022NEET 2021

Related Terms

EvolutionNatural SelectionAllele FrequencyFounder Effect

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Natural Selection

Natural selection is the process by which organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing these traits to the next generation. First proposed by Charles Darwin, it is the primary mechanism of evolution. Over time, beneficial traits become more common in a population while harmful traits decrease.

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