LESSON 7:

Mechanisms that
Produce Change
in Populations
PRESENTED BY:
ALTHEA DENISSE D. RODRIGUEZ
LILIAN MAE TUMANGUIL
Important Terms
 Evolution
A population is changing in its genetic
makeup over generations

 Mutation
A change in the nucleotide sequence of an
organism’s DNA or in the DNA or RNA of a virus

Natural Selection

Charles Darwin Alfred Russel Wallace

(1809-1882) (1823-1913)
 Natural Selection
The preferential survival and reproduction or
preferential elimination of individuals with certain genotypes
(genetic compositions), by means of natural or artificial
controlling factors

•Preferential survival: There are genes that are maintained

by the organism because these are beneficial or helpful that
can help the organism survive and reproduce.
•Preferential elimination: loss of traits or characteristics that
are useless for the organism.
Gene Pool
All copies of all the genes in a population. The
combination of all the genes (including alleles) present in
a reproducing population or species.

Allele Frequency
Refers to how common an allele is in a population or
how frequent a certain trait or characteristic occurs
in population.

 Genetic Drift
Change in allele frequency because of chance.
Microevolution
A change in the frequency of gene variants, alleles, in a
population, typically occurring over a relatively short
period of time.

Gene Flow (Migration)

The transfer of alleles from one population to
another, resulting from the movement of fertile
individuals or their gamete.
 Gene Flow or Migration

REMINDER:
Allele – one of two or more alternative forms of a gene.
Genotype – an organism’s complete set of genetic material.
Phenotype – observable characteristics
Population Genetics
The field of Biology that studies allele frequencies in
populations and how they change over time.
It is the branch of biology which focuses on inherited
variations in populations of organisms.
The changes that occur in the genetics of a population or
between several populations of organisms are studied here.
Population genetics focuses on the reasons why there is
microevolution which is also the reason why there is large
scale evolution.
Population Genetics
Five Causes of Microevolution
- Genetic drift
- Assortative /Random mating
- Mutation
- Natural selection
- Migration (gene flow)
Mechanisms: The processes of evolution
Biological evolution is descent with modification. This definition
encompasses small-scale evolution and large-scale evolution.
Evolution helps us to understand the history of life. Biological
evolution is not simply a matter of change over time. Lots of things
change over time: trees lose their leaves, mountain ranges rise and
erode, but they aren't examples of biological evolution because they
don't evolve descent through genetic inheritance.
Small-scale evolution - changes in gene/allele frequency
in a population from one generation to the next
Large-scale evolution - the descent of different species
from a common ancestor over many generations.
Evolution is the process by which modern organisms have
descended from ancient ancestors. evolution is responsible for both
the remarkable similarities we see across all life and the amazing
diversity of that life.

How evolution works?

Genetic variation is fundamental to the process in which upon selective
forces can act in order for evolution to occur. Evolution is possible when
there is variation in the genetic makeup among organisms that affects
their traits. Then, if certain individuals in a population reproduce more
successfully than others so that their traits become more common within
the population, the result is evolutionary change.
Mechanisms of
Change
1. Mutation
Mutation is a change in DNA, the hereditary material
of life. An organism's DNA affects how it looks, how
it behaves, and its physiology — all aspects of its life.
So a change in an organism's DNA can cause
changes in all aspects of its life. A mutation could
cause parents with genes for bright green coloration
to have offspring with a gene for brown coloration.
That would make genes for brown coloration more
frequent in the population than they were before
the mutation.
1. Mutation
Mutation is a change in a DNA sequence, usually
occurring because of errors in replication or repair.
Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation.
Changes in the composition of a genome due to
recombination alone are not considered mutations
since recombination alone just changes which genes
are united in the same genome but does not alter
the sequence of those genes.
2. Genetic Drift
This can occur when a small group of individuals leaves a
population and establishes a new one in a geographically isolated
region. Fitness of a population is not considered in genetic drift, nor
does genetic drift occur in a very large population.
Imagine that in one generation, two brown beetles happened
to have four offspring survive to reproduce. Several green beetles
were killed when someone stepped on them and had no offspring.
The next generation would have a few more brown beetles than the
previous generation — but just by chance. These chance changes
from generation to generation are known as genetic drift.
2. Genetic Drift
In each generation, some individuals may, just by
chance, leave behind a few more descendent (and
genes, of course!) than other individuals. The genes
of the next generation will be the genes of the
"lucky" individuals, not necessarily the healthier or
"better" individuals. That, in a nutshell, is genetic drift.
It happens to ALL populations — there's no avoiding
the vagaries of chance
Random Drift consists of random fluctuations
in the frequency of appearance of a gene,
usually, in a small population. The process may
cause gene variants to disappear completely,
thereby reducing genetic variability. In
contrast to natural selection, environmental or
adaptive pressures do not drive changes due
to genetic drift. The effect of genetic drift is
larger in small populations and smaller in large
populations.
2 EXAMPLES OF RANDOM DRIFT
1. Bottleneck effect occurs when there is a sudden
sharp decline in a population’s size typically due to
environmental factors (natural disasters) It is a
random event, in which some genes are
extinguished from the population. This results in a
drastic reduction of the total genetic diversity of
the original gene pool. The small surviving
population is considerably be farther from the
original one in its genetic makeup.
1. Bottleneck Effect
Generation 1: The frequency of alleles in the population is the same.

Generation 2: Randomly and due to a catastrophic natural or man-made

event, most of individuals of the population died (there is no influence of
adaptive pressures).

Generation 3: As a result, the original large population is reduced to a small

population composed by few individuals. This new surviving population
subset contains much less genetic variability than the previous population.

Generation 4: Later, the drastic reduction in the population size is followed

by an expansion (population is recovered). The final population is no
longer genetically representative of the original one. In this particular case,
an allele is completely removed from the gene pool.
2 EXAMPLES OF RANDOM DRIFT
2. Founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when
a new population is established by a small number of individuals
that are cleaved from a larger population. This new population
does not have the genetic diversity of the previous one. Because
the community is very small and also geographical or socially
isolated, some genetic traits are becoming more prevalent in the
population. This leads to the presence of certain genetic diseases
in the next generations. In some cases, founder effect plays a
fundamental role in the emergence of new species.
2. Founder Effect
3. Migration / Gene flow
Is any movement of individuals, and/or the genetic material they carry,
from one population to another. Gene flow includes lots of different
kinds of events, such as pollen being blown to a new destination or
people moving to new cities or countries. If gene versions are carried to
a population where those gene versions previously did not exist, gene
flow can be a very important source of genetic variation. In the graphic
below, the gene version for brown coloration moves from one
population to another. Gene flow is the movement of genes between
populations. This may happen through the migration of organisms or
the movement of gametes (such as pollen blown to a new location)
4. Natural Selection
Another mechanism for evolution is natural selection, which occurs when
populations of organisms are subjected to the environment. The fittest
creatures are more likely to survive and pass their genes to their offspring,
producing a population that is better adapted to the environment. The
genes of less-fit individuals are less likely to be passed on to the next
generation. The important selective force in natural selection is the
environment. Imagine that green beetles are easier for birds to spot (and
hence, eat). Brown beetles are a little more likely to survive to produce
offspring. They pass their genes for brown coloration on to their offspring.
So, in the next generation, brown beetles are more common than in the
previous generation.
All of these mechanisms can cause changes in the frequencies of genes in
populations, and so all of them are mechanisms of evolutionary change. However,
natural selection and genetic drift cannot operate unless there is genetic variation
— that is, unless some individuals are genetically different from others. If the
population of beetles were 100% green, selection and drift would not have any
effect because their genetic mke-up could not change.
Natural Selection leads to an evolutionary change when some individuals with
certain traits in a population have a higher survival and reproductive rate than
others and pass on these inheritable genetic features to their offspring. Evolution
acts through natural selection whereby reproductive and genetic qualities that
prove advantageous to survival prevail into future generations. The cumulative
effects of natural selection process have giving rise to populations that have
evolved to succeed in specific environments. Natural selection operates by
differential reproductive success (fitness) of individuals.
Charles Darwin
and his
contribution to
evolution
 Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, in full Charles Robert Darwin, (born February 12,
1809, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England – Died April 19, 1882,
Downe, Kent).
Charles Darwin is an English naturalist best known for his theory
of evolution by natural selection. Charles Darwin contributed a
lot to pave the way for the study of modern evolution.

According to him, humans and animals came from common

ancestry which became controversial especially because in
their time, when people's knowledge was still conservative
and in a religious community that believed that humans were
created by God in this form, it did not become acceptable.
His observations and theories began when he was able to sail aboard the HMS Beagle in
1835, when he was only 22 years old. During his exploration, he collected various
specimens of animals which he used as the basis for his notes and his published books
such as 'On the origin of species' which he published 2 decades after his exploration on
the Galapagos Islands.
His observations and theories
began when he was able to sail
aboard the HMS Beagle in
1835, when he was only 22
years old. During his
exploration, he collected
various specimens of animals
which he used as the basis for his notes and his published books such as 'On the
origin of species' which he published 2 decades after his exploration on the
Galapagos Islands.
 Major
Observation of
Darwin
He noticed that the habitat where the finches he collected lives
depend on the structure of their beaks and body shape. He
believed that these types of finches came from a common
ancestor but they evolved because of different factors like the
differences in location and available food source.
 Charles Darwin

Evolution acts through change in allele

frequency at each generation.
Darwin did not understand how genetic
variation was passed on from
generation to generation.
Based on Darwin's observation, there is genetic
variation or evolution in organisms, and it is passed
from generation to generation. Evolution changes
the allele frequency at each generation.
Allele frequency refers to how common an allele is in
a population. It is expressed as a percentage or
fraction that changes because of the microevolution
that occurs in the population of organisms. What
Darwin did not explain is how genetic variation occurs
and how it is passed from generation to generation.
Gregor Mendel
and his
contribution to
genetics
 Gregor
"Father of Genetics"
Mendel presented a
mechanism for how
traits got passed on
Mendel
"Individuals pass
alleles on to their
offspring intact".
the idea of
particulate (genes)
inheritance
 Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk born in 1822 in
Austria. He is known as the father of genetics and he was the one
who began the idea of ​particulate inheritance which he used to
explain the inheritance of traits.
According to him, each parent is able to transfer one allele
to offspring. (Alleles are the alternative forms or versions of genes
and the phenotype or actual appearance of the offspring depends
on the dominance of the genes that have been passed on).
 Hardy-Weinberg
Principle
Testing for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can be used to assess
whether a population is evolving.
Hardy-Weinberg Principle
The Hardy-Weinberg principle is used to determine if evolution is
occurring in a population. This name comes from the names of a
physician and mathematician, Godfrey Hardy and Wilhelm
Weinberg. The Hardy-Weinberg principle shows the equilibrium or
balance of allele frequency in a population, meaning that no
evolution occurs even in several consecutive generations of a
population. It will only change if there is a so-called evolutionary
force that will cause genetic variation, and this is what is called the
mechanism of evolution.
 The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that allele and
genotype frequencies remain stable in a population over
generations if certain conditions are met:

If a population is
not in Hardy-
Weinberg
equilibrium, it can
be concluded
that the
populaton is
evolving.
1. No natural selection. All alleles confer equal fitness
(make organisms equally likely to survive and reproduce).
2. No mutation. No new alleles are generated by mutation,
nor are genes duplicated or deleted.
3. No migration (gene flow). Neither individuals nor their
gametes (e.g., windborne pollen) enter or exit the
population.
4. Very large population size. The population should be
effectively infinite in size.
5. Random mating. Organisms mate randomly with each
other, with no preference for particular genotypes.
Thank you for
listening!