In: Biology
In the Lesser Pahoa Kipuka Chicken population, the frequency of individuals born without bones is 1/2500 individuals. Assuming that only half of the individuals homozygous recessive for the "boneless" allele survive to reproductive maturity, determine both the selection coefficient (s) as well as the mutation rate (µ) required to explain the persistence of the allele in the population due to mutation-selection balance.
s=_____
µ =____x 10-4
Please show work.
Natural selection is an important evolutionary force which comes in play due to differential reproduction and survival of the individuals with different genotypes and phenotypes in the population. The individuals with larger reproductive success and survival will transfer their alleles to next generation, thus increasing the allele frequency related to the particular characteristics.
Mutation, a cause for variations in the population , is the sudden change in nucleotide sequences of the DNA, altering the combinations and introducing a new set up for alleles. This may either be advantageous or deleterious. If it is advantageous for the survival and reproductive fitness of the individual, it is selected against the non-advantageous, and vice-versa. Natural selection helps in elimination of harmful recessive alleles.
Selection Co-efficient (s) is a measure of fitness of the individuals with different characteristics in the population. It shows the extent of natural selection acting on a particular genotype in the population.