Question

Random discrepancy between HWE expectations and actual results can be called:

(A) Genetic drift
(B) Founder effect
(C) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium violation
(D) Natural selection

Answer 1

The random discrepancy between Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations and actual results is known as genetic drift, a change in allele frequencies in a population by chance. So, the correct answer is (C) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium violation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The random discrepancy between Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations and actual results can be classified as genetic drift.

Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that refers to random changes in allele frequencies in a population, particularly in small populations, without regard to whether those alleles provide a survival and reproductive advantage or not.

Other processes like the founder effect, which occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population, can also cause deviations from expected genetic frequencies, but genetic drift is the correct term for the random changes described.

Natural selection, on the other hand, involves changes in allele frequencies in a population due to differential reproductive success based on those alleles.

So, the correct answer is (C) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium violation.

Answer 2

Genetic drift is the random change in allele frequencies within a population, which can occur without any selective advantage and lead to a discrepancy between expected and actual results under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The founder effect is a specific type of genetic drift that occurs when a new population is founded by a few individuals.

Step-by-step explanation:

The random discrepancy between Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) expectations and actual results is best described as genetic drift. Genetic drift refers to random changes in allele frequencies that occur in a small population, without any advantage to the population over existing allele frequencies. Often, it's challenging to differentiate between the effects of natural selection and genetic drift, as they can both occur simultaneously within populations. A specific case of genetic drift is the founder effect, where a new population is started by a small number of individuals who are not representative of the original population. This can lead to a significant change in the population's genome, as seen in the Afrikaner population of South Africa, which presents high incidences of certain genetic disorders due to the founder effect.