What's Genetic Drift?

1. Random Changes in Allele Frequencies: Genetic drift is a random process that leads to changes in the frequency of alleles (gene variants) within a population over time. It occurs due to chance events, rather than natural selection. Small populations are more susceptible to genetic drift, as chance occurrences can have a greater impact on allele frequencies.
2. Founder Effect and Bottleneck Effect: Genetic drift can result from the founder effect and bottleneck effect. In the founder effect, a small group of individuals establishes a new population, and the alleles present in that group can become more prevalent due to chance. In the bottleneck effect, a sudden reduction in population size leads to a limited pool of alleles, potentially causing a loss of genetic diversity.
3. Impact on Evolution: Genetic drift can lead to the fixation or loss of alleles in a population over generations. Unlike natural selection, which is driven by beneficial traits, genetic drift has no inherent direction and can result in the loss of alleles even if they were advantageous. This randomness can lead to a decrease in genetic diversity within a population and may have important implications for the potential for adaptation to changing environments.
#science101 #geneticdrift #genetics #geneticcode #geneticalgorithm #sciencefacts #scienceshorts #homeschoolcurriculum