[Casey]

I was going through past exam papers and came across this question

Explain how new alleles can enter and become established in a population.

Is it because of mutations?

[alextemplet]

That’s one way for new alleles to enter a population. Some scientists think they can also be introduced from other sources such as bacteria or viruses.

[Casey]

Cool thanks! Also the process of meiosis that helps with variation, is that simply crossing over?

[wbla3335]

Yes, recombination can create new alleles. Also, gene flow from other populations. So these three – new mutations, recombination, and gene flow – are the most common ways for a population to acquire new alleles. Horizontal, or lateral, transfer is also a mechanism in prokaryotes (nearly the entire genome of a species of Wolbachia has been found within the genome of Drosophila ananassae – so lots of new genes too, not just alleles).

[Casey]

Cool thanks! Thats heaps to help 🙂

[Author]

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