Question

Evolution Question:

a) Explain how beneficial alleles at different genes in different individuals can be permanently united so that one individual has beneficial alleles at both genes and can pass them both on to a single offspring. (8pts)

b) Why does the process you outlined in part (a) allow sexual populations to pruge deleterious alleles? (5pts)

Answer 1

a) Beneficial alleles present on different genes and in different individuals come together by the process of natural selection. In this process the alleles that are beneficial for an organism but present in different individuals come together so that they can establish themselves in the future progeny and make the progeny adaptable to their surroundings. These alleles keep on passing from genesrations to generations till any further mutation. There is one important point about natural selection that it favours the transfer of only those alleles that are of some use to the organism and deletes those that are of no use.

b) Why does natural selection allow sexual populations to purge deleterious alleles?

The process called Gentic purging is responsible for the reduction of deleterious alleles in a population and an increase in natural selection of beneficial alleles.

Deleterious alleles are the alleles that produce harmuful effects when they are present in homologous: same copy of alleles in a gene. When simillar individuals mate then there is a maximum chance of passing these homozygous deleterious alleles from parents to the progeny due to which genetic purging comes to play by reducing the frequency of non-benefecial deleterious alleles.