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11: Population genetics

  • Page ID
    148851
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    The foundation of genetics is transmission of alleles (and the traits they influence) from one generation to the next. We have given substantial consideration to transmission at the level of individual parents and offspring -- what do these ideas look like at a population level? How do allele and genotype distributions behave in populations at equilibrium, and how do they change over time? This chapter is about the genetics of populations.

    Learning Objectives

    If you have mastered the material in this chapter, you should be able to:

    • State the Hardy-Weinberg principle and the assumptions under which it applies.

    • Apply the Hardy-Weinberg principle to predict the equilibrium genotype frequency of a population under random mating.

    • Use a chi-squared test to test whether a population is at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

    • Describe the effects of mutation, migration, genetic drift, and selection on the allele and genotype frequencies of a population.

    • Predict the equilibrium allele frequencies in populations subject to mutation and natural selection.

     


    11: Population genetics is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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