"Genetic drift, also known as random genetic drift, allelic drift or the Wright effect, is the change in the frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random chance."
Random changes in the frequency of alleles in a population, often due to chance events.
Population Genetics: The study of genetic variation, genetic structure, and the processes that lead to changes in heritable traits within and between populations.
Mutation: The process by which genetic information is changed or altered.
Natural Selection: The differential survival and reproduction of individuals within a population based on adaptations that improve their ability to survive and reproduce.
Founder Effect: A phenomenon where a new population is established by a small group of individuals, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity.
Genetic Bottleneck: A decrease in population size that leads to a reduction in genetic diversity.
Genetic Drift: The random fluctuations of genetic variation within populations caused by chance events.
Neutral Theory of Evolution: A theory that suggests most mutations are selectively neutral and that genetic drift is the main driver of evolutionary change.
Coalescence Theory: A mathematical model that describes the process by which genetic diversity within a population is traced back to a common ancestor.
Inbreeding: Mating between close relatives within a population, resulting in an increase in homozygosity.
Genetic Marker: A DNA sequence that is used to track genetic variation within and between populations.
Phylogenetics: The study of the evolutionary relationships between organisms based on genetic data.
Gene Flow: The movement of genes between populations, resulting in the transfer of genetic information and the potential for increased genetic diversity.
Molecular Evolution: The study of how genetic sequences evolve over time, including the mechanisms driving genetic change and the rates and patterns of nucleotide substitutions.
Genetic Load: The accumulation of deleterious mutations within a population, potentially leading to decreased fitness and increased vulnerability to environmental stressors.
Microevolution: The study of evolutionary change within a population over short time scales (e.g., generations).
Macroevolution: The study of evolutionary change over large time scales, including the origin of new species and the diversification of life on Earth.
Allele Frequency: The proportion of different types of alleles in a population.
Effective Population Size: The theoretical size of a population that would experience the same amount of genetic drift as the actual population.
Genetic Diversity: The variety of genetic information within a population, including the number of different alleles and the distribution of these alleles within the population.
Genetic Adaptation: The process by which genetic variation enables individuals to better survive and reproduce in their environment, leading to evolutionary change.
Founder Effect: Occurs when a small subset of the population becomes geographically isolated and creates a new population. The gene pool of the new population might differ from that of the original population, depending on the original gene pool's variation in the subset.
Bottleneck Effect: It occurs when a significant decrease in population size due to environmental events like natural disasters or overhunting reduces the genetic variability of a population. Due to genetic drift, the remaining group of individuals may contain different alleles than what was present in their parent population.
Sweepstakes Effect: When a small number of individuals are responsible for propagating the gene pool of the next population, the variation present in the gene pool is reduced, causing a genetic drift. This effect can take place in different ways, such as migration or a change in the environment.
Sewall Wright Effect: It occurs when an allele's frequency fluctuates rapidly due to random fluctuations in a population's size. This effect is mainly observed in small populations.
Demographic Stochasticity: When the number of individuals reproducing is too low or too high, it can cause a change in the genetic variability of the population due to random fluctuations in mating, mutation, or mortality.
Mendelian Sampling: It occurs when the individuals who contribute their genes to the next generation are chosen randomly. This effect mainly affects smaller populations.
Genetic Draft: When a particular allele gets propagated due to the advantageous features it offers, a genetic draft occurs. This effect has a significant impact on populations at the time of speciation.
"Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation. It can also cause initially rare alleles to become much more frequent and even fixed."
"When few copies of an allele exist, the effect of genetic drift is more notable, and when many copies exist, the effect is less notable."
"Vigorous debates occurred over the relative importance of natural selection versus neutral processes, including genetic drift."
"Ronald Fisher, who explained natural selection using Mendelian genetics, held the view that genetic drift plays at most a minor role in evolution."
"In 1968, population geneticist Motoo Kimura rekindled the debate with his neutral theory of molecular evolution."
"The neutral theory of molecular evolution claims that most instances where a genetic change spreads across a population (although not necessarily changes in phenotypes) are caused by genetic drift acting on neutral mutations."
"In the 1990s, constructive neutral evolution was proposed which seeks to explain how complex systems emerge through neutral transitions."
"Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation. It can also cause initially rare alleles to become much more frequent and even fixed."
"When few copies of an allele exist, the effect of genetic drift is more notable, and when many copies exist, the effect is less notable."
"Genetic drift, also known as random genetic drift, allelic drift or the Wright effect..."
"Vigorous debates occurred over the relative importance of natural selection versus neutral processes, including genetic drift."
"Ronald Fisher, who explained natural selection using Mendelian genetics..."
"Ronald Fisher held the view that genetic drift plays at most a minor role in evolution."
"In 1968, population geneticist Motoo Kimura rekindled the debate with his neutral theory of molecular evolution..."
"The neutral theory of molecular evolution claims that most instances where a genetic change spreads across a population... are caused by genetic drift acting on neutral mutations."
"Constructive neutral evolution was proposed which seeks to explain how complex systems emerge through neutral transitions."
"Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation."
"When few copies of an allele exist, the effect of genetic drift is more notable, and when many copies exist, the effect is less notable."
"Ronald Fisher, who explained natural selection using Mendelian genetics, held the view that genetic drift plays at most a minor role in evolution."