copyright © 2005 pearson education, inc. publishing as benjamin cummings hardy-weinberg equilibrium...
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
• In real populations, allele and genotype frequencies do change over time (Evolution!)
• The five conditions for non-evolving populations are rarely met in nature, but help us calculate allele frequencies. – 1)Extremely large population size
– 2)No gene flow
– 3)No mutations
– 4)Random mating
– 5) No natural selection How are your algebra skills???
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Population Genetics and Human Health
• We can use the Hardy-Weinberg equation to estimate the percentage of the human population carrying the allele for an inherited disease
• Three major factors alter allele frequencies and bring about most evolutionary change:
– Natural selection (survival of the fittest)
– Genetic drift
– Gene flow
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Genetic Drift
• The smaller a sample, the greater the chance of deviation from a predicted result
• Genetic drift describes how allele frequencies fluctuate unpredictably from one generation to the next
• Genetic drift tends to reduce genetic variation through losses of alleles
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The Bottleneck Effect
• The bottleneck effect is a
sudden change in the environment
that may drastically reduce the
size of a population
• The resulting gene pool may no
longer be reflective of the
original population’s gene pool
Cheetah – ice age
Prairie chicken - hunting
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The Founder Effect
• The founder effect occurs when a few individuals become isolated from a larger population
• It can affect allele frequencies in a population
• Ex: Amish in Pennsylvania, beetles on island
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Gene Flow
• Gene flow—also called migration—is any movement of genes from one population to another. Gene flow includes lots of different kinds of events, such as pollen being blown to a new destination or people moving to new cities or countries. If genes are carried to a population where those genes previously did not exist, gene flow can be a very important source of genetic variation. Native Americans and English.
Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Why Natural Selection Cannot Fashion Perfect Organisms
• Adaptations are often compromises (look how weird the human body is – tail bone)
• Chance and natural selection interact
• Selection can only edit existing variations so a lot of adaptations aren’t perfect they’re contrived!