Allele

Introduction Charles Darwin is famous for his book, The Origin of Species, where he proposed that evolutionary change in populations is due to natural selection. His idea was that of survival of the fittest. In other words, the species with superior traits would have more of a likelihood to live, and then breed more offspring. Slowly, more and more of the species with the superior traits will survive and multiply. But what is it that gives these species the better survival trait, and allows…

Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that occurs by random chance rather than natural selection. In genetic drift, a population experiences a change in the frequency of a given allele, prompted by random luck rather than a need for adaptation. This differs from natural selection, in which allelic frequency is altered based on the fittest genes surviving to reproduce and the weaker genes dying off. Genetic drift tends to be a phenomenon amongst smaller populations, while natural selection…

. The four forces of evolution are mutations, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow. Mutations are changes in genes that make us who we are today. Mutations, although they are changes in our genetic code, are most of the time harmless and essential to evolution. Mutations can be either advantageous, deleterious, or neutral depending on what the environment of the living organism is (class lecture, Wednesday). The next force of evolution is natural selection which is the idea that…

These show that there is selection against the shorter wavelength (535 nm) alleles in favour of 560 nm alleles or intermediate wavelength pigments (e.g. 545 nm; Osorio et al., 2004). Assuming that trichromacy favours the 535 nm/560 nm combination with equal allele frequencies, it is likely that the bias against the 535 nm allele arises in dichromats. This could be due either to the consequences for their dichromatic colour vision, which favours a wide…

Inherited traits put growth and development into action in not only individual organisms but also the evolutions of species over time. Humans wouldn’t have evolved to who we are now if it wasn’t for inherited traits. In fact all species have adapted and evolved to be unique and distinct. For example a hummingbird that has adapted to have longer bills to be able to reach inside a flower to get nectar. Hummingbirds could die out from having short bills so they evolved throughout generations. These…

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) make up the nucleic acid in cells and is responsible for the differences in many of our traits. DNA is the substance in which our genetic material is carried on from one generation to the next. Nucleotides join together through phosphodiester linkages between the 5 ' and 3 ' carbon atoms to form nucleic acids. “Nucleotides are composed of a five-membered sugar group with a purine or pyrimidine nitrogen base group attached to its 1 ' carbon…

about how children who have a “risk allele” are more likely to develop problems in their life. This text is basically about how scientist compared two groups of children, one group with the “risk allele” and “protective allele” to see which one succeeds and adapt to different things and situations. “...began to study the genetic makeup of a group of young children. Specifically, they focused on one particular “risk allele” associated with….(ADHD). (A risk allele, then is…

one inherited from the father and one inherited from the mother (Personal Genetics Education Project, n.d.). Most genes are the same from person to person but a very small number are slightly different. Variations of the same gene are called alleles. Alleles determine a person’s physical characteristics, or phenotype, such as…

From a genetic point of view, it is the change in frequency of an allele or genotype, within a population, regardless of mutations, natural selection and migration. Genetic drift is caused by random and unpredictable phenomena, like, the chance that sperm and eggs may encounter, in the case of sexual reproduction. The effects of genetic drift are all the more important as the population is small, because the deviations from the allele frequencies there will be more noticeable. This situation can…

Genetic variation is vital, without it natural selection wouldn’t be able to occur. Genetic variation is important in evolution it’s what makes us all unique. Genetic variation in a population is derived from a wide assortment of genes and alleles. An allele is any…