Gene pool
- For the guitarist named Gene Pool, see Greg Flesch.
In population genetics, a gene pool is the complete set of unique alleles in a species or population. A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense selection. Meanwhile, low genetic diversity (see inbreeding and population bottlenecks) can cause reduced biological fitness and an increased chance of extinction.
When many alleles exist for a given gene or locus, a population is said to be polymorphic with respect to that gene or locus. When no variation exists, it is labelled monomorphic.
See also
- Biodiversity
- Conservation biology
- Founder effect
- Genetic drift
- Population genetics
- Small population size
Subfields of genetics | |
|---|---|
| Main subjects | Classical genetics · Conservation genetics · Ecological genetics · Immunogenetics · Molecular genetics · Population genetics · Quantitative genetics |
| Related topics | Geneticist · Genomics · Medical genetics · Molecular evolution · Reverse genetics |
Basic topics in evolutionary biology | |
|---|---|
| Evidence of evolution | |
| Processes of evolution | adaptation · macroevolution · microevolution · speciation |
| Population genetic mechanisms | natural selection · genetic drift · gene flow · mutation |
| Evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-devo) concepts | phenotypic plasticity · canalisation · modularity |
| Modes of evolution | anagenesis · catagenesis · cladogenesis |
| History | History of evolutionary thought · Charles Darwin · The Origin of Species · modern evolutionary synthesis · Evolutionary history of life |
| Other subfields | ecological genetics · human evolution · molecular evolution · phylogenetics · systematics |
| List of evolutionary biology topics · Timeline of evolution | |
Topics in population genetics | |
|---|---|
| Key concepts | Hardy-Weinberg law • genetic linkage • linkage disequilibrium • Fisher's fundamental theorem • neutral theory |
| Selection | natural • sexual • artificial • ecological |
| Effects of selection on genomic variation | genetic hitchhiking • background selection |
| Genetic drift | small population size • population bottleneck • founder effect • coalescence |
| Founders | R.A. Fisher • J. B. S. Haldane • Sewall Wright |
| Related topics | evolution • microevolution • evolutionary game theory • fitness landscape • genetic genealogy |
| List of evolutionary biology topics | |
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