Chapter # 18: Variation & Selection

VARIATION

Q. What is variation? What are its types?

 What: It is differences between individuals of same species.

 Types of variation with examples:
a. Genotypic variation: variations that are inherited as they are controlled by genes.
e.g. blood group, eye colour, ability to roll tongue, fixed or free earlobes.
b. Phenotypic variation: variations which are produced by genes but can also be caused by
environment or combination of both gene and environment.
e.g. we may have genes to grow tall, but if diet is not good, we may not grow tall
Phenotypic variation is of two types:
1. Continuous variation
2. Discontinuous variation

Q. What is environmental variation?

 Variations that are caused by environmental factors like climate, diet, accidents, culture, lifestyle etc.
e.g.
 tan colour due to sun exposure
 weight gain due to too much eating
 accent you adapt in the country you live
 a plant under shade of big tree will grow tall in order to reach more light

Q. Which variation is heritable?

 Genetic variations are heritable

 Environmental variations are not heritable

Q. What does continuous variation result in? Give examples. What is the shape of its

graph? OR What is continuous variation?

 What: Continuous variation results in a range of phenotypes between two extremes.
 Examples: body length and body mass
 Graph: when graph of its data is plotted it gives smooth bell curve because of small degree of
differences between data values.

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Q. What does discontinuous variation result in? Give examples. What is the shape of

its graph? OR What is discontinuous variation?

 What: Discontinuous variation results in a limited number of phenotypes with no intermediates;

 Examples: ABO blood groups, seed shape in peas and seed colour in peas
 Graph: when graph of its data is plotted it gives a step like shape

Q. What are discontinuous and continuous variation usually caused by?

 Discontinuous variation is usually caused by a single gene only

 Continuous variation is caused by both genes and environment. e.g. tall parent can pass gene for
height to children. However, if diet is poor, they cannot grow well.

Q. Discontinuous and continuous variations are usually controlled by how many

alleles?

 Continuous variable characteristics are usually controlled by several pair of alleles.

 Discontinuous variable characteristics are usually controlled by single pair of allele or small number
of genes.

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 MUTATIONS

Q. What is mutation? Where it can occur?

What: Mutation is a genetic change
Where:
 gene: one or more gene may not be copied correctly
 chromosome: loss, gain or damage to part of chromosome during mitosis or meiosis.

Q. What is gene mutation?

 It is a random change in the base sequence of DNA

Q. How much percentage of human DNA is made up of gene?

 3%
Q. What is junk DNA?
 Part of DNA (97%) that does not have gene.
 It has repeated sequence of nucleotides that do not code for proteins

Q. What will happen if junk DNA is mutated?

 It will unlikely affect an organism.

Q. Mutation causes useful or harmful effects? Give examples also.

 Mutations are usually harmful. Reason: it will result in formation of faulty protein (enzyme). Faulty
protein will be of different shape it will not carry out its function properly so upset the chemical
reaction in cell. e.g. sickle cell disease
 Rarely, mutation produces useful effect on an organism.

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Q. What will happen if mutation occurs in the following cells:
a) Gamete:
it will affect all cells of an organism (whole organism) e.g. haemophilia, cystic fibrosis.
b) Somatic cell (body cells):
it will affect only those cells which are produced by mitosis e.g. cancers
c) Bacteria:
produce drug resistance bacteria

Q. How are new alleles formed?

 New alleles are formed by mutation

Q. What are sources of genetic variation in populations?

1. mutation
2. meiosis: gametes which are formed contain different combinations of alleles.
3. random mating and random fertilisation: any two male and female gametes can fuse together at
fertilisation, so there are many possible combinations of alleles than can be produced in the zygote

Q. What can cause increase in rate of mutation?

1. ionising radiations: x-rays, gamma rays and radioactive compounds, ultraviolet radiation from
sunlight
2. some chemicals: tar in tobacco

ADAPTIVE FEATURES

Q. What is an adaptive feature?

 It is an inherited feature that helps an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment

Q. What are hydrophytes and how they are adapted to their environment?
 What: plants that are adapted to live in water

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 Common adaptations include:
1. large air spaces in leaves
 to make them buoyant for flotation. This keep leaves close to surface of water where there is
more light for photosynthesis.
2. Small and shallow roots
 they hang in water or not deeply into mud, as they can also extract nutrients from
surrounding water through their tissues.
3. Stomata
 open all the time
 on upper epidermis of leaf where they can exchange gases more easily

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Q. Which climates can result in lack of water?
 Hot climate: speed up evaporation from leaves
 Cold climate: soil water becomes frozen and roots cannot absorb it

Q. How leave - fall in Autum is an example of adaptation?

 Loss of leaves remove nearly all evaporating surface in winter when water is less.

Q. How trees in Autum cope up without photosynthesis (without leaves)?

 Plants become dormant, hence metabolic activity is low.

Q. What are xerophytes and how they are adapted to their environments?
What: plants that are adapted to live with lack of water. (arid conditions)

Common adaptations include:

1. thick waxy cuticle and shiny surface:
 cuticle reduces evaporation
 shiny surface reflects heat and lowers temperature
2. stomata:
 stomata sunk in pits in epidermis; moist air trapped here. It lengthens the diffusion pathway of
transpiration, hence reduces rate of evaporation
 stomata closes in daytime reduces water loss and opens at night when evaporation is low.
 fine hairs around stomata reduces air movement, so humidity is build up and transpiration is
reduced.
3. leaf rolled with stomata inside and inner surface covered in hair:
 traps moist air and prevent air movement across stomata which reduces transpiration
4. leaves:

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  have either no leaves or small, compact, needle shaped leaves which reduce the surface area
for evaporation
5. deep, spreading roots:
 very long roots search for water deep down in sand
6. thickened leaves and stems:
 which contain cells that store water and has small surface area for evaporation i.e. they are
succulent.

Q. How photosynthesis occurs in Xerophytes if stomata is closed in daytime?

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  At night, carbon dioxide diffuses in through open stomata and is converted to organic acid for
photosynthesis.

SELECTION

Q. What is natural selection? Give example.

OR
Q. How natural selection results in evolution?

What: Natural selection is the selection process where organisms that are better adapted to
environment will survive and reproduce without human intervention.

Theory of evolution by natural selection states that: (proposed by Charles Darwin) = ‘survival of the fittest’

1. Variation: Individuals in a species show range of variations due to differences in gene.

2. Overproduction: many more offspring are produced than will survive. They become adult and
reproduce.
3. Competition: This leads to competition for food and other resources which results in “struggle for
survival”
4. Best adaptive individuals: more chance of survival and reproduction for individuals that are better
adapted to environment than others.
5. Passing on of alleles: best adaptive individuals will pass on their alleles to the next generation more
than less adapted. So, there will be a greater number of best adaptive individuals

Over time, this will bring about a change in characteristics of species and can finally replace the
original or less adapted variety. This is how evolution happens.

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Q. Who proposed theory of natural selection?
 Charles Darwin proposed it and it is known as ‘survival of the fittest’.

Q. Define evolution in terms of selection?

 Evolution is defined as the change in adaptive features of a population over time as a result of
natural selection

Q. Explain an example of bacteria in natural selection.

 The development of strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria is an example of natural selection
(use description from chapter # 10/15 notes from antibiotic resistant topic)

Q. What is adaptation?
 The process, resulting from natural selection, by which population become more suited to their
environment over many generations.

Q. Which selection (natural or artificial) results in adaptation?

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  Natural selection results is adaptation

Q. An athlete built more muscles. Will natural selection be effective on this

characteristic?

 No, because for natural selection to be effective the variation should be heritable.

Q. Outline the differences between natural and artificial selection?

Natural selection Artificial selection
1. Occurs naturally without human intervention 1. Occurs when humans intervene

2. Results in development of population with 2. Results in development of population with

features that are better adapted to their features that are useful to humans and not
environment for survival and reproduction necessarily to survival of an individual.

3. Usually takes long time to occur 3. Takes less time as only individuals with the
desired features are allowed to reproduce

4. Mating is random 4. humans determine which individuals to mate

Q. What are disadvantages of artificial selection over natural selection?

 Long term disadvantage is loss of variability in population. This population will be prone to disease
and less adaptive to environmental conditions. So, they are potentially at risk of extinction.
 It is expensive
 It is a slow process
 Whole set of genes is transferred with desirable genes, so harmful genes can also be transferred.

Q. What is artificial selection (selective breeding)?

OR question can be asked in this way:
Q. How is selective breeding by artificial selection carried out over many

generations to improve crop plants and domesticated animals?

(Describe it by using suitable words as per question. Different breeding programmes have selected genes for fruit
size, colour, shape, disease resistance, high yield crops, animal skin colour, ear shape etc.)

 Artificial selection means the process of selection of individuals with desirable characteristics
and then breed them together by humans.

The process of selective breeding is as follows:

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  Humans select individuals/crops/animals with desirable features
 These individuals/crops/animals then cross-breed to produce next generation
 Offsprings/crops/animals with the most desirable features are chose to continue the breeding
process
 This process is repeated over several generations to have “new breed with desirable/improved
features”

Q. Can selective breeding produce new breed in next generation?

 The process of selective breeding has to be repeated over successive generations to have “new
breed with desirable features”

Q. Does selection change, if environment does not change? What will be its

disadvantage?

 If the environment does not change, selection does not change.

Disadvantage:
 This will favour individuals with the same characteristics as their parents. There will be no evolution,
no change in adaptive features, no variation.

Examples of adaptive features

 Understand these examples, as in exam you should be able to interpret images or other information
about a species in order to describe its adaptive features.
Example:

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  A typical question here might be to explain how the leaf area and distribution and density of
stomata help different species of plant survive in their different habitats

Q. How camels are adapted to the climate?

Features of Adapted for
adaptation
closable nostrils Keep out wind-blown sand
long eyelashes Keep out wind-blown sand
broad feet Less pressure to avoid sinking in
sand
thick fur Prevent heat gain
stomach can hold lot of To replace water loss
water
nasal passage lined  in inspiration water vapour is
with mucus added to inspired air
 on expiration dry mucus absorb
water vapour to conserve water
hump It contains fat which conserve
water. Fat metabolise and change
to CO2 and H2O
Q. How polar bears are adapted to the climate?
Features of adaptation Adapted for
large size small surface area to volume ratio, so
loose less heat
Small ears Reduces heat loss
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Thick coat with long closely packed hair Insulation
Oily and water-repellent To shake off water after swimming
Under skin fat- blubber Thermal insulation
Hollow hair Transmit heat to black skin under it
White coloured hair Camouflage against snow
Heat exchange arrangement in limbs: arteries are close to veins, Prevention of frost-bite
so little heat is lost from feet. As, heat from arteries passed to
veins before blood reaches feet
during pregnancy and for rearing cubs, female stay in den To protect cub from extreme cold

Q. What are the adaptations of venous flytrap?

Features of adaptation
Live in habitat where there is
shortage of nitrates for
growth
Sensitive hair on leaves
Pair of leaves with tooth like
edges
Secrete protease enzyme
Adapted for
Unlike photosynthetic plants, venus
flytraps use the nitrogen -rich animal
proteins to enable their survival in
marginal soil conditions.
to trigger response when fly touches it
To digest proteins of insect o amino
acid to build new proteins

Q. What are the adaptations of bat?

Features of adaptation Adapted for

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long ears to catch echoes which
allows it to feed and fly in
dark
fur on body For insulation
forearm covered by membrane To fly
of skin to form wing
long fingers To stretch membrane which
increase surface area of
wing

Q. What are the adaptations of hare?

Features of adaptation Adapted for

long ears to catch and locate sound vibrations

fur on body for insulation
long hind legs to run fast away from predator
fur colour for camouflage

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