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A lethal allele is maintained in population for example when you use bug spray on cockroaches there will be at least one cockroach with an allele that protects it from the bug spray, it then breeds and the allele
Is passed to it's offspring and they will also be immune to the pesticide. Those babies will most likely breed with each other when they are mature passing on the allele from both of the parents making the offspring 100% immune. It's the same concept for lethal alleles.
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∙ 13y ago
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Why are dominant alleles that cause lethal disorders less common that recessive alleles that cause lethal disorders?
A lethal dominant gene prohibits the organism from reproducing irregardless of the paired gene, so it is removed from the gene pool as soon as it appears. A lethal recessive gene, on the other hand, does not prevent reproduction unless it is paired with another lethal recessive, so it may be passed down through many generations before becoming paired and preventing reproduction.
A healthy individual is a carrier of a lethal allele but is unaffected by it what is the probable genotype of this individual?
N-normal l-lethal Nl so, dominant normal and recessive lethal, making him/her normal but carries a lethal allele.
What is allele fixation?
An allele present in all members of a population
What Is the percentage of a particular allele in a population?
Allele frequency.
What is a fixed allele.?
An allele present in all members of a population
Why are dominant alleles that cause lethal disorders less common that recessive alleles that cause lethal disorders?
A lethal dominant gene prohibits the organism from reproducing irregardless of the paired gene, so it is removed from the gene pool as soon as it appears. A lethal recessive gene, on the other hand, does not prevent reproduction unless it is paired with another lethal recessive, so it may be passed down through many generations before becoming paired and preventing reproduction.
A recessive lethal gene exists in a population and remains for several generations Which woman could have passed the recessive lethal allele to offspring but not have the disease herself?
a woman who is heterozygous for the gene
A healthy individual is a carrier of a lethal allele but is unaffected by it what is the probable genotype of this individual?
N-normal l-lethal Nl so, dominant normal and recessive lethal, making him/her normal but carries a lethal allele.
How do dominant lethal alleles persist in populations even though their fitness is essentially zero?
Huntington's disease, where the lethal allele expresses itself very late in an individuals life. Persons carrying the dominant lethal allele does not become aware of the disease until after their reproductive age. Thus, they pass the lethal allele to their children without knowing and the allele persists.
Which evolutionary mechanisms could affect allele frequencies in a population being maintained in captivity?
natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation
What is allele fixation?
An allele present in all members of a population
What effect does natural selection have on the frequency of a recessive lethal allele?
Perhaps not much as the recessive allele is masked in heterozygous condition. Depends on penetration and expresivity of the lethal allele, but any homozygous expression is fatal, so one can expect negative frequency selection; the freqiency is kept low by selection.
Would a dominant allele ever return to a population?
If a population does not have a particular dominant allele, it could return to the population through the immigration of new individuals carrying the dominant allele.
What Is the percentage of a particular allele in a population?
Allele frequency.
What is a fixed allele.?
An allele present in all members of a population
How can a lethal allele continue to be present in a gene pool even when they are selected against?
A harmful recessive allele remains in the population because both homozygous dominant and heterozygous genotypes produce the dominant, healthy phenotype. So the heterozygous genotype keeps the harmful recessive allele in the population.
Why are dominant genetic disorders rare in humans?
Intuitively, natural selection should eliminate these lethal genetic disorders from the population.....However, natural selection does not act on the genotype of an individual, but on the phenotype. Many of these lethal genetic disorders are the product of two "recessive alleles" that were masked in the parents with a "dominant allele."
