Question

in lateral gene transfer how does it affect genetic drift?

Answer 1

Genetic drift is the fluctuations in allele frequencies in gametes from generation to generation that occurs by chance. The phenomenon of genetic drift is characteristic of all populations. The changes in allele frequencies that cause genetic drift occur randomly and are generally unpredictable. Genetic drift changes are found to be more accelerated if the population size moves towards a reduction in size or shrink.

The lateral gene transfer or the horizontal gene transfer means, introducing a new genetic variation from one species to the other species. This new genetic variation will be subject to the genetic drift or the natural selection. So, the horizontal gene transfer is likely to accelerate the changes in the allele frequency caused by the genetic drift, however, it again depends on the population size.