Consider a population of size Nₑ with a new mutation that confers a fitness advantage of 1 + s.This new allele will be more likely to go to fixation due to selection if
A)Ne is large.
B)Ne is small.
C)s is small.
D)s is large.
E)A and D

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A larger Ne means a greater genetic diversity that increases the potential for genetic drift to affect the fate of a new mutation, counterbalancing the positive effects of selection. In contrast, a smaller Ne increases the opportunity for genetic drift to decrease the frequency of the beneficial allele. Thus, a small Ne reduces the efficiency of selection in driving the new allele towards fixation. However, if the advantage of the new mutation is large (s is large), selection can override the effects of genetic drift even in small populations. Therefore, both options A (large Ne) and D (large s) increase the likelihood of a new advantageous allele to go to fixation in a population under natural selection.

Consider a Population of Size Nₑ with a New Mutation