Lecture Notes: Population Genetics Flashcards
population genetics overview
studies the variation in gene/allele frequencies through time
1940’s Integration of evolutionary theory with genetics; neodarwinism (modern synthesis)
neodarwinism
population are the units of evolutions, not individuals
natural selection is the most important mechanism, but there are others
gradualism
population
localized group of interbreeding individuals of the same species
Gene Pool
total set of genes in a population
fixed alleles: those for which all of the individuals in a population are homozygous
Hardy Weinberg Model
- gene pool in equilibrium
- meiosis and random fertilization maintain the same allele/genotype frequency as in P1, then the population is equilibrium
- if values start to deviate, then the population is evolving
Hardy Weinberg Assumptions
- Large population size
- no random genetic drift
- no gene flow
- no mutation
- panmixia ( complete random mating)
- No natural selections
microevolution
change in genotype/allele frequencies in a population from generation to generation
Mechanisms of evolultion
- random genetic drift
- gene flow
- mutation
- non-random mating (inbreeding and assortative mating)
- Natural Selection
Random Genetic Drift
- changes in the gene pool of a small population due to chance
- sampling error: disproportionate results in small samples
- new generations get alleles at random so:
a. the smaller population size, the greater the chance that the allele frequencies in the new generation will not represent P1
Conclusion of random genetic drift
the changes in frequencies from one generation to the next is unpredictable (random sampling of alleles)
on average small populations will have some alleles fixed faster than larger populations
leads to two phenomena: bottleneck and flounder
bottleneck effect
- a drastic environmental change can results in small sample of population surviving
- the smaller the sample, the less the chance that its gene pool is representative of the original population
- leads to the decreased variation
founder effect
- few colonizing individuals that survive
- sample unlikely to be representative of population of origin
- specially important in islands
- wallace line
gene flow
- genetic exchange by migration of fertile individuals or exchange of gametes between populations
- directions and flow affects the change in the gene pool
- if rates of flow are equal, gene flow has a homogenizing effect among divergent population
Mutations
- basic origin of variation
- if it occurs in gametes, then it is transmitted to the next generation, and affects the gene pool
- rates vary among groups and gene loci
- small effects in large populations
- rate of spread of mutations can increase by the disproportionate reproduction of some populations
non-random mating
can occur by:
a. inbreeding: mating among close relatives or self-fertilization
b. assortative mating: selection of mates based on specific phenotypes
- leads to loss of variation
- specially important in sessile organisms