Final Exam II

Question 1

population genetics

Answer 1

studies the transmission between generation of genetic variation

Question 2

population

Answer 2

a group of individuals of a single species living in the same time and place

Question 3

the sum total of all alleles carried in all members of a population

Answer 3

gene pool

Question 4

sample

Answer 4

a finite number of individuals used to make inferences about the population as a whole

Question 5

allele

Answer 5

a variant at a specific locus, gene, region, or nucleotide position of the genome

Question 6

The sample reveals only one allele at a nucleotide position

Answer 6

monomorphic

Question 7

Polymorphic

Answer 7

if more than one allele or variant at a nucleotide site exists

Question 8

genotype frequency

Answer 8

the proportion of total individuals in a population that carry a particular genotype

Question 9

phenotype frequencies

Answer 9

two phenotypes in relative proportions to one another

Question 10

proportion of gene copies in a population that are of a given allele type

Answer 10

allele frequency

Question 11

Assumptions of the Hardy-Weinberg Law

Answer 11

-if certain assumptions were met, allele frequencies, genotype frequencies, and phenotype frequencies, would remain constant over time and between generations

1) the population is composed of a very large number of diploid individuals that, for all intents and purpose, is finite.
2) mating is random
3) no new mutations appear in the gene pool
4) no migration
5) different genotypes have no impact on fitness

Question 12

fitness

Answer 12

the ability to survive to reproductive age and transmit genes to the new generation

Question 13

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE)

Answer 13

allele and genotype frequencies for that locus will not change unless one of the assumptions is violated.

Question 14

Monte Carlo simulation

Answer 14

a computer program that uses a random-number generator to choose an outcome for each probabilistic event

Question 15

genetic drift

Answer 15

a change in allele frequencies as a consequence of the randomness of inheritance due to sampling error from one generation to the next

Question 16

extinction

Answer 16

loss of an alleles from a population

Question 17

fixation

Answer 17

a process whereby a single alleles of a locus becomes the only one in a population

Question 18

founder effects

Answer 18

occurs when a few individuals separate from a larger population and establish a new one that is isolated from the original (migration of people to a new location)

Question 19

population bottlenecks

Answer 19

occurs when a large population of individuals perish, often as a consequence of environmental disturbances or disease.

Question 20

mutation

Answer 20

a variant DNA sequence in an individual’s genome that is not present in the genomes of either parent

Question 21

deleterious mutations

Answer 21

disrupt important functions like the activity of an enzyme encoded by a gene

Question 22

beneficial mutations

Answer 22

provide a relative selective advantage to an organisms or population which are relatively rare

Question 23

neutral mutations

Answer 23

polymorphisms that provide little or no benefit no harm to the organisms

Question 24

molecular clock

Answer 24

the ability to predict how long in the past different types of organisms diverged from a common ancestor by examining how different the DNA sequenced of these organisms are from each other

Question 25

What are the two basic components to fitness?

Answer 25

1) viability

2) reproductive success

Question 26

natural selection

Answer 26

the process that progressively eliminates individuals whose fitness is lower and chooses individuals of high fitness to survive and become the parent of the next generation

Question 27

relative fitness (W)

Answer 27

the average number of surviving progeny of a particular genotype

Question 28

heterozygote advantage

Answer 28

situation in which heterozygotes have a higher fitness than either homozygote

Question 29

balancing selection

Answer 29

selection that actively maintains polymorphisms in a population

Question 30

fitness cost

Answer 30

the effect of a deleterious alleles it is selected against