What does it mean for an allele to be selectively neutral?
a form of a gene that when carried in an organism in no way alters the FITNESS of that individual to survive and reproduce.
What are examples of neutral mutations?
This theory suggests that neutral mutations are responsible for a large portion of DNA sequence changes in a species. For example, bovine and human insulin, while differing in amino acid sequence are still able to perform the same function.
Does neutral theory affect phenotype?
Abstract. Although the neutral theory of molecular evolution was proposed to explain DNA and protein sequence evolution, in principle it could also explain phenotypic evolution. Nevertheless, overall, phenotypes should be less likely than genotypes to evolve neutrally.
What are neutral variations?
Neutral genetic variation is described as that which is unaffected by natural selection.
What is selective neutrality?
A situation in which different alleles of a certain gene confer equal fitness.
What role does selection play in the neutral theory?
It must be stressed that the neutral theory of molecular evolution is not an anti-Darwinian theory. Both the selectionist and neutral theories recognize that natural selection is responsible for the adaptation of organisms to their environment.
Why are neutral mutations useful for molecular clocks?
2008). Because mutations caused by DNA methylation occur largely independently of DNA replication, such mutations may follow different molecular clocks than others.
Why is the neutral theory confined to molecular evolution?
The neutral theory allows for the possibility that most mutations are deleterious, but holds that because these are rapidly removed by natural selection, they do not make significant contributions to variation within and between species at the molecular level.
What is neutral variation or neutral selection?
Neutral genetic variation is described as that which is unaffected by natural selection. Ohta (2002) suggested that slightly deleterious mutations can lead to nearly neutral variation, and today’s literature generally uses the descriptor “neutral or nearly neutral” when describing most types of molecular variation.
What is a neutral variation?
Neutral genetic variation is described as that which is unaffected by natural selection. For some time, disagreement over the extent or amount of molecular variation that is “neutral” was featured in the evolutionary literature, labeled as the neutralist/selectionist debate.