How do you determine Genotypic Frequencies?

p² + 2pq + q² = 1 – a principle in population genetics that describes the relationship between allele and genotype frequencies in a population that is not evolving.

Definition: If human-cow α-hemoglobin differ at 17 of 141 sites, p = 0.121; K = -ln(1 - 0.121) = 0.128 substitutions per site since their common ancestor.

Fraction of the human genome coding for proteins

Definition: Usually non-synonymous and deleterious (70-97 %), removed by purifying selection.

Definition: Compatible because if substitutions occur by random fixation of neutral mutations at rate u, evolutionary change accumulates at a roughly constant pace independent of population.

Definition: Mutation introduces heritable changes in DNA sequence that generate new alleles on which natural selection acts.

Term: Horizontal Gene Transfer

A group of related genes within a genome that arose from duplication of a common ancestral gene and usually perform similar or related functions.

Definition: Same number of body hairs and similar social and behavioral traits.

Definition: Most is non-coding DNA—repetitive or regulatory sequences, not protein-coding.

Humans intentionally select for heritable traits—e.g., in crops, livestock, or dogs—causing measurable genetic and phenotypic change over generations.

W = p(survival to maturity) × E(offspring).

A group of genes in the same genome that share a common ancestor, typically arising from the duplication of an original gene.

Characterized by the origin and spread of flowering plants and hardwood trees, and the extinction of dinosaurs.

Definition: 4 to 2.5 billion years ago.

Definition: Across species lineages, long-term diversification and extinction.

Process where, after a duplication event, one of the duplicated gene copies acquires a completely new function, while one copy retains its original function.

Collective term for Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic eons—before abundant animal fossils.

Definition: About 4.6 to 4 billion years ago.

They enable innovation by allowing new or specialized functions to evolve without losing essential ancestral functions.

Definition: Homologous genes in different species that arose from a common ancestral gene via speciation. What are these genes called?

Which type of mutation is most likely to confer advantages in a changing environment?

Definition: Cambrian → Ordovician → Silurian → Devonian → Carboniferous (Mississippian & Pennsylvanian) → Permian.

Definition: In polluted environments, darker ("melanic") forms—such as the peppered moth—gained camouflage advantage and increased in frequency, reversing after pollution declined.

Definition: Most molecular variation within and between species is selectively neutral; evolutionary change at the molecular level results primarily from random fixation of neutral mutations by genetic drift.

The data we collect are usually counts of genotypes in a population. From this data we want to calculate various measures of genetic variation within and between populations.

Definition: Allele frequencies do not change over time; Genotypic frequencies stabilize after one generation of random mating and remain in the proportions.

A method of dating that uses the magnetic properties of rocks to determine their age.

Definition: Models adaptation as movement toward a fitness peak while accounting for drift and inertia around that optimum.

Definition: Gene duplication, whole-genome duplication, horizontal gene transfer, and de novo gene evolution.

Bacteria evolve resistance through random mutations and natural selection; resistant strains survive antibiotic exposure and reproduce, shifting population genetics.

The analysis must assume an appropriate model of trait evolution (e.g., Brownian motion, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck) to correctly estimate correlations and evolutionary rates.

Definition: μ ≈ 1 in 2 × 10¹⁰ cell divisions (1 / 2 × 10¹⁰).

Said to be contingent because all new genes arise from modification or duplication of pre-existing DNA sequences.

Definition: Similarities among species that result from shared ancestry rather than independent adaptation.

Definition: The theory that early life used RNA as both genetic material and catalytic molecule (ribozymes).

Definition: Come Over Some Day, Maybe Play Poker, Try Jeff's Crazy Pizza, Nacho, Queso.

Why organisms occur where they do—and why some are absent from apparently suitable areas.

A genetic change where one nucleotide is replaced with another, but the resulting amino acid remains the same.

Random change in allele frequencies from one generation to the next due to sampling error in finite populations.

Caused by underwater volcanic activity in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province leading to global warming.

The number of zygotes produced by an individual over its lifetime; can also apply to alleles, genotypes, or phenotypes.

Definition: That nearly all variation and substitutions were adaptive and maintained by natural selection.

How do you determine allelic frequencies?

Autopolyploidy, Allopolyploidy.

A characteristic that enhances the survival or reproduction of organisms that bear it, relative to alternate character states. The evolutionary process by which over the course of generations, organisms are altered to become improved with respect to features that affect survival or reproduction.

Definition: Cambrian → Ordovician → Silurian → Devonian → Carboniferous (Mississippian → Pennsylvanian) → Permian → Triassic → Jurassic → Cretaceous → Paleogene → Neogene → Quaternary.

Caused by intense glacial and interglacial periods creating large swings in sea levels and tectonic uplift.

2.5 bya-541 mya; oxygenation of atmosphere, first endosymbiosis, emergence of eukaryotes.

Selection that maintains genetic variation within a population, often through heterozygote advantage.

Definition: Processes that drive biodiversity, Traits organisms use to survive and thrive in changing environments, Improving the human condition, Evolution, health, Bioengineering.

Definition: Traits adapt toward fitness optima, but optima can shift dynamically over time or across environments.

Great white sharks occur along Hawaii, California, Florida, South Africa, and Australian coasts because these regions share suitable ecological conditions.

A beneficial mutant allele increases in frequency because it confers higher fitness.

Change amino acid, potentially altering protein function.

Definition: Molecular data showed extremely high polymorphism; if maintained by balancing selection, the implied genetic load would be unsustainably high. Which of the following best explains this observation?

Definition: Antibiotic resistance, Artificial selection, Industrial melanism. Which of the following is best illustrated by these examples?

Which of the following is most commonly associated with gene duplication?

Mutations that affect multiple nucleotides or chromosome structure, including fission, fusion, and whole-genome duplication.

Natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation — which determine whether duplicates are retained, diversified, or lost.

The principle of segregation; The two members of a gene pair (alleles) at a locus segregate from each other during meiosis ending up in different gametes.

Definition: Initially homogenous diploid population. A rare mutant allele arises. Allelic interactions (dominance/codominance) defined. Mutant allele affects relative fitness. Change in allele frequency quantified over time.

Definition: DNA → RNA → Protein – the pathway through which heritable sequence changes can affect phenotype.

Caused by intense volcanic activity in Siberia leading to global warming and ocean acidification.

Definition: Dinosaurs and gymnosperms thrived; first birds and mammals appeared.

Trait similarity that evolved independently, not inherited from a common ancestor (e.g., convergent evolution).

Definition: De novo gene evolution.

Definition: Positive selection, purifying selection, and balancing selection.

As the probability μ of new mutations per gene, per genome, or per base pair per generation.

A gene, chromosome, or a physical structure that is similar in different species or individuals because they are derived from a common ancestral source.

Definition: Pseudogenes, Deletion.

Characterized by the diversification of bony fishes and the emergence of the first amphibians and insects.

Definition: The origin of cells — separate replicators and membranes combining into genomes enclosed within cell membranes.

Definition: Autopolyploidy and allopolyploidy.

Definition: Contingency emphasizes historical dependence and chance; determinism implies predictable outcomes under similar pressures.

Definition: K = -ln(1 - p), where p = observed proportion of differences.

Definition: By random genetic drift or positive selection.

Definition: Mutation introduces new variation, while drift removes variation; together they can reach a mutation-drift equilibrium.

Definition: Deleterious alleles are selected against, reducing their frequency.

Caused by an asteroid impact in Yucatán, Mexico, resulting in global cataclysm and rapid cooling.

A dating method that measures the accumulated radiation dose in materials to determine age.

Characterized by forests of giant seed ferns and the widespread presence of amphibians.

541 mya-present; abundant animal and plant life, Cambrian explosion, complex body plans.

Definition: Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, Phanerozoic.

Definition: No mutations, Random mating, No natural selection, A very large population size, No gene flow (migration).

Definition: Standardized relative to other genotypes in the population (e.g., divided by the fitness of a reference genotype).

A technique used in absolute dating that measures the decay of radioactive isotopes to determine age.

Definition: H = 4Neμ / (4Neμ + 1).