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Genetic Variation Within Populations

  • Page ID
    184372
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    Genetic variation in a population increases the chance that some individuals will survive. 

    • Genetic variation gives us phenotypic variation
    • Phenotypic variation is required for natural selection
    • Genetic variation is stored in a population's gene pool

    Allele frequencies measure genetic variation, they are a measure of how common any particular allele is in a population.

    Sources of genetic variation:

    • Mutation - a random change in the DNA of a gene
    • Recombination - forms new combinations of alleles
    • Hybridization - the crossing of two different species

    Genetic Variation Within Populations is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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