Question

How is genetic change measured in natural populations? Discuss with examples.

Answer 1

The genetic change in a population is measured with the number of different types of alleles and their respective frequency. Suppose there are 2 alleles in a population: A and a. Both alleles will be forming three different types of genotypes: AA, Aa, and aa. These genotypes will have different frequency and the allele frequency will change with that. The change in allele frequency will result in the change of genetic variation in the population.

An example is a change in the allele frequency of white moth during the industrial population. During this period the allele for black both become more in number thereby changing the genetics of the moth population from white to black.