Question

What are the features of genetic drift?

Answer 1

Genetic drift:

1. Random changes in a population's number of gene variants are referred to as genetic drift.
2. Genetic drift occurs when the frequency of different alleles, or variable forms of a gene, fluctuates over time through chance.
3. Some alleles, including advantageous ones, may be lost as a result of genetic drift, while others may be fixed, or increase in frequency to 100%.
4. Regardless of this adaptive value, genetic drift randomly fixes or eliminates any character.
5. In small populations, where genetic drift often occurs, rare alleles have a higher risk of disappearing.
6. It alters Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and helps in the origin of new species