Which of the following is true about genetic drift?
A) It is more likely to occur in a large population than in a small population.
B) It may lead to an allele's becoming fixed in a population when its alternative allele is lost from the population.
C) It increases the number of heterozygotes in a population.
D) It increases the frequency of rare alleles in a population.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Genetic drift is a random process that can lead to the loss of alleles from a population or the fixation of an allele in a population. This means that one allele becomes the only allele at a particular locus in a population, which can limit genetic variation. Genetic drift is more likely to occur in small populations where chance events can have a greater impact on allele frequencies. As such, it is not more likely to occur in a large population than in a small population (option A). Genetic drift can reduce the number of heterozygotes in a population as alleles are lost (option C), and it can decrease the frequency of rare alleles as they are lost from the population. Therefore, option D is also incorrect.

Which of the Following Is True About Genetic Drift