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Explain in your own words the founder effect

User Gtlambert
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Answer:

The founder effect is the reduction in genetic variation that results when a small subset of a large population is used to establish a new colony. The new population may be very different from the original population, both in terms of its genotypes and phenotypes.

Example:

The founder effect is a case of genetic drift caused by a small population with limited numbers of individuals breaking away from a parent population. The occurrence of retinitis pigmentosa in the British colony on the Tristan da Cunha islands is an example of the founder effect

User Nikhil Batra
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