Question

Select the odd one out with respect to the factors affecting the Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium.

• A. No occurrence of mutations in the population
• B. Natural selection is acting on the population
• C. Gene flow occurs out of the population
• D. Genetic drift has occured recently in the population

Answer 1

The correct option is A No occurrence of mutations in the population

Hardy - Weinberg equilibrium states that the alleles of a gene in the population are always constant even after a generation. This equilibrium is affected by various processes like gene flow, genetic drift, natural selection, mutation etc.

In case of no mutation, genetic equilibrium of a population is maintained wisely, thus following the principle of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

Natural selection, gene flow and genetic drift lead to the de-balancing of the allele frequency in a given population as it modifies the genetic makeup of the overall population.

Genetic drift refers to a fluctuation in gene/allele frequencies due to chance of events.

Gene flow: Migration of genes/alleles due to migration of few individuals in a population