BIOL 520 INTRODUCTION

Selection is often assumed to eliminate genetic variation. So, why is genetic variation then not eroded over time? Based on what you have learned in the past modules, from the basic mechanisms of evolution to quantitative genetics, reflect on the diversity of mechanisms that can explain why genetic variation is maintained in populations. à There are many factors that plays role in preserving genetic variation within a population. We have learned from the last few modules of class that selection does not alone have an influence on genetic variation. Besides selection, diverse mechanisms such as drift, mutation, migration help to maintain genetic variation in populations. Genetic variation can be caused by mutation. It can create entirely new alleles in a population, random mating, random fertilization, and recombination between homologous chromosomes during meiosis. (which reshuffles alleles within an organism’s offspring). There are important interactions between mutation and sele...

Before taking this class the basic knowledge, I had about evolution is it happens through genetic modification. I had no idea in detail how natural selection works, what causes mutation, and I had no idea what is genetic drift? Now I know all this thing. If I go back to my original blog post defined evolution, I will add different evolutionary forces and their impact. My  understanding of factors behind the mechanism of evolution has increased such as genetic drift works well on small populations whereas natural selection works well on a large population. So far this is my favorite class. I liked and apricate the structure of the class. Last three years in k-state I felt very few professors really give effort on how a student can learn better. For most of the classes, I felt the professor want to complete the syllabus within 16 weeks but pay little attention to how much a student is learning that may help a student to succeed in later life. The way I am learning about evolution. ...

  Inbreeding  is the mating of organisms that are related genetically. Inbreeding is a common phenomenon in natural populations. Inbreeding is not considered an evolutionary force. It has an association with selection. According to the textbook, in inbreeding excess number of homozygotes produces which causes increasing an increase in the probability that individuals are homozygous for recessive deleterious alleles. Recessive deleterious alleles are usually rare. Mating’s that led to individuals with two copies of recessive deleterious alleles are very unlikely homozygotes. That changes when inbreeding becomes common in a population. Along with negative fitness consequences for the individual, the increased probability of combining deleterious recessive alleles also reduces the average fitness in a population, which can be problematic for endangered species. In inbreeding, mating between close relatives in many species yields deleterious outcomes, because blood-relative mating...