When both mutation and genetic drift are operating on a locus, heterozygosity will be lowest when A) N_e is large and µ is large. B) N_e is small and µ is large. C) N_e is large and µ is small. D) N_e is small and µ is small.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Heterozygosity is lowest when the effective population size (Ne) is small and the mutation rate (µ) is small because genetic drift has a stronger effect in smaller populations, leading to a faster loss of genetic variation, and a low mutation rate does not introduce much new variation to counteract this loss.

When Both Mutation and Genetic Drift Are Operating on a Locus