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Mechanisms that
Produce Change
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in Populations
s• PRESENTED BY:
•
ALTHEA DENISSE D. RODRIGUEZ
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i LILIAN MAE TUMANGUIL
Evolution
A population is changing in its genetic
makeup over generations
 Mutation
A change in the nucleotide sequence of an
organism's DNA or in the DNA or RNA of a virus

Excess skin at the nape

of the neck
Separated joints
between the bones of
the skull (sutures)
Small ears
Small mouth
Wide, short hands with
short fingers pidrmff
start
White spots on the «th lYnJrt ’J’lj;

colored part of the eye

(Brushfield spots)
Natural Selection

Charles Alfred Russel Wallace

 Natural Selection
The preferential survival and reproduction
preferential elimination of individuals with certain
genotypes (genetic compositions), by means of natural or artificial
controlling factors

•Preferential survival: There are genes that are maintained by the

organism because these are beneficial or helpful that can help the
organism survive and reproduce.
•Preferential elimination: loss of traits or characteristics that are
useless for the organism.
Gene Pool
All copies of all the genes in a population. T
combination of all the genes (including alleles) present in a
reproducing population or species.

Allele Frequency
Refers to how common an allele is in a population or
how frequent a certain trait or characteristic occurs
in population.
 Genetic Drift
Change in allele frequency because of chance
Microevolution
A change in the frequency of gene variants, alleles, in a
population, typically occurring over a relatively short
period of time.

Gene Flow (Migration)

The transfer of alleles from one population to
another, resulting from the movement of fertile
individuals or their gamete.
 Gene Flow or Migration

REMINDER:
Allele - one of two or more alternative forms of a gene.
Genotype - an organism's complete set of genetic material.
Phenotype - observable characteristics
Population Genetics
• The field of Biology that studies allele frequencies in
populations and how they change over time.
• It is the branch of biology which focuses on inherited
variations in populations of organisms.
• The changes that occur in the genetics of a population or
between several populations of organisms are studied here
Population genetics focuses on the reasons why there is O
microevolution which is also the reason why there is large
scale evolution.
Population Genetics
Five Causes of Microevolution
- Genetic drift
- Assortative /Random mating
- Mutation
- Natural selection
- Migration (gene flow)
O
Mechanisms: The processes of evolution
Biological evolution is descent with modification. This definition
encompasses small-scale evolution and large-scale evolution.
Evolution helps us to understand the history of life. Biological evolution
is not simply a matter of change over time. Lots of things change over
time: trees lose their leaves, mountain ranges rise and erode, but they
aren't examples of biological evolution because they

o
don't evolve descent through genetic inheritance.
Small-scale evolution - changes in gene/allele frequency
in a population from one generation to the next Large-
scale evolution - the descent of different species from a
common ancestor over many generations.
Evolution is the process by which modern organisms have descended
from ancient ancestors. evolution is responsible for both
the remarkable similarities we see across all life and the amazing
diversity of that life.

How evolution
works?
Genetic variation is fundamental to the process in which upon selective forces
can act in order for evolution to occur. Evolution is possible when there is
variation in the genetic makeup among organisms that affects their traits. Then,
if certain individuals in a population reproduce more
successfully than others so that their traits become more common within
the population, the result is evolutionary change.
Mechanisms of
Change
1. Mutation
Mutation is a change in DNA, the hereditary material
of life. An organism's DNA affects how it looks, how it
behaves, and its physiology — all aspects of its life.
So a change in an organism's DNA can cause
changes in all aspects of its life. A mutation could
cause parents with genes for bright green coloration
to have offspring with a gene for brown coloration.
That would make genes for brown coloration more
frequent in the population than they were before
the mutation.
1. Mutation
Mutation is a change in a DNA sequence, usually
occurring because of errors in replication or repair.
Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation.
Changes in the composition of a genome due to
recombination alone are not considered mutations
since recombination alone just changes which genes
are united in the same genome but does not alter
the sequence of those genes.
2. Genetic Drift
This can occur when a small group of individuals leaves a
population and establishes a new one in a geographically isolated
region. Fitness of a population is not considered in genetic drift, nor
does genetic drift occur in a very large population. I
Imagine that in one generation, two brown beetles happened
to have four offspring survive to reproduce. Several green beetles
were killed when someone stepped on them and had no offspring.
The next generation would have a few more brown beetles than the
previous generation — but just by chance. These chance changes
from generation to generation are known as genetic drift.
2. Genetic Drift
In each generation, some individuals may, just by
chance, leave behind a few more descendent (and
genes, of course!) than other individuals. The genes
of the next generation will be the genes of the "lucky"
individuals, not necessarily the healthier or "better"
individuals. That, in a nutshell, is genetic drift
It happens to ALL populations — there's no avoiding
the vagaries of chance
Random Drift consists of random fluctuations
in the frequency of appearance of a gene,
usually, in a small population. The process
may cause gene variants to disappear
completely, thereby reducing genetic
variability. In contrast to natural selection,
environmental or adaptive pressures do not
drive changes due to genetic drift. The effect of
larger indrift
genetic smallis populations and smaller in large
populations.
2 EXAMPLES OF RANDOM DRIFT
1. Bottleneck effect occurs when there is a sudden
sharp decline in a population's size typically due to
environmental factors (natural disasters) It is a
random event, in which some genes are extinguished
from the population. This results in a drastic reduction
of the total genetic diversity of the original gene pool.
The small surviving
population is considerably be farther from the
original one in its genetic makeup.
• Generation 1: The frequency of alleles in the population is the same.

• Generation 2: Randomly and due to a catastrophic natural or man-made event,

most of individuals of the population died (there is no influence of adaptive
pressures).

• Generation 3: As a result, the original large population is reduced to a small

population composed by few individuals. This new surviving population subset
contains much less genetic variability than the previous population.

• Generation 4: Later, the drastic reduction in the population size is followed by an

expansion (population is recovered). The final population is no longer genetically
representative of the original one. In this particular case, an allele is completely
removed from the gene pool.
2 EXAMPLES OF RANDOM DRIFT
2. Founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a
new population is established by a small number of individuals that
are cleaved from a larger population. This new population does not
have the genetic diversity of the previous one. Because the
community is very small and also geographical or socially isolated,
some genetic traits are becoming more prevalent in the
population. This leads to the presence of certain genetic diseases

in the next generations. In some cases, founder effect plays a

fundamental role in the emergence of new species.
O
«c
3. Migration / Gene flow
Is any movement of individuals, and/or the genetic material they carry,
from one population to another. Gene flow includes lots of different
kinds of events, such as pollen being blown to a new destination or
people moving to new cities or countries. If gene versions are carried to
a population where those gene versions previously did not exist, gene
flow can be a very important source of genetic variation. In the graphic
below, the gene version for brown coloration moves from one
population to another. Gene flow is the movement of genes between
populations. This may happen through the migration of organisms or the
movement of gametes (such as pollen blown to a new location)
4. Natural Selection
Another mechanism for evolution is natural selection, which occurs when
populations of organisms are subjected to the environment. The fittest creatures
are more likely to survive and pass their genes to their offspring, producing a
population that is better adapted to the environment. The genes of less-fit
individuals are less likely to be passed on to the next generation. The important
selective force in natural selection is the environment. Imagine that green beetles
are easier for birds to spot (and hence, eat). Brown beetles are a little more likely to
survive to produce offspring. They pass their genes for brown coloration on to their
offspring. So, in the next generation, brown beetles are more common than in the
previous generation.
All of these mechanisms can cause changes in the frequencies of genes in
populations, and so all of them are mechanisms of evolutionary change. However,
natural selection and genetic drift cannot operate unless there is genetic variation -
that is, unless some individuals are genetically different from others. If the population
of beetles were 100% green, selection and drift would not have any effect because
their genetic mke-up could not change.
Natural Selection leads to an evolutionary change when some individuals with certain
traits in a population have a higher survival and reproductive rate than others and
pass on these inheritable genetic features to their offspring. Evolution acts through
natural selection whereby reproductive and genetic qualities that prove
advantageous to survival prevail into future generations. The cumulative effects of
natural selection process have giving rise to populations that have evolved to
succeed in specific environments. Natural selection operates by differential
reproductive success (fitness) of individuals.
Charles Darwin
and his
contribution to
evolution
 Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, in full Charles Robert Darwin, (born
February 12, 1809, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England -
Died April 19, 1882, Downe, Kent).
Charles Darwin is an English naturalist best known for his
theory of evolution by natural selection. Charles Darwin
contributed a lot to pave the way for the study of modern
evolution.
According to him, humans and animals came from common
ancestry which became controversial especially because in their
time, when people’s knowledge was still conservative and in a
religious community that believed that humans were created by
God in this form, it did not become acceptable.
His observations and theories began when he was able to sail aboard the HMS Beagle in
1835, when he was only 22 years old. During his exploration, he collected various
specimens of animals which he used as the basis for his notes and his published books
such as 'On the origin of species' which he published 2 decades after his exploration on
the Galapagos Islands.

Plymouth

Azores

Cape Verde

Galapagos Cocos
Bahia (Keeling) Is
Callao
Lima Rio de
Janeiro Mauritius

\%‘ Valparaiso *
Montevideo Cape Town King George's
Sound
Hobart
Falkland
Islands

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His observations and theories
began when he was able to sail
aboard the HMS Beagle in
1835, when he was only 22
years old. During his
exploration, he collected
various specimens of animals
which he used as the basis for his notes and his published books such as 'On the
origin of species' which he published 2 decades after his exploration on the
Galapagos Islands.
 Major
Observation of
~ 0* ' Darwin
He noticed that the habitat where the finches he collected lives
depend on the structure of their beaks and body shape. He
believed that these types of finches came from a common
ancestor but they evolved because of different factors like the
differences in location and available food source.
 \% I
9*
Charles Darwin
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Evolution acts through change in allele

frequency at each generation.
Darwin did not understand how genetic
variation was passed on from generation
to generation.
 • Based on Darwin's observation, there is genetic
variation or evolution in organisms, and it is passed
from generation to generation. Evolution changes
the allele frequency at each generation.
• Allele frequency refers to how common an allele is
in a population. It is expressed as a percentage or
fraction that changes because of the microevolution
% I that occurs in the population of organisms. What 0 j Darwin
did not explain is how genetic variation occurs
\

and how it is passed from generation to generation.

% % •

"' 0 ~ 0* x

Gregor
Mendel
and his
contribution
to
•
•
"Father of Genetics"
Mendel presented a
Gregor
mechanism for how
traits got passed on
Mendel
"Individuals pass alleles
on to their offspring
intact".
• the idea of
particulate (genes)
inheritance
 Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel was an Austrian monk born in 1822 in
Austria. He is known as the father of genetics and he was the
one who began the idea of particulate inheritance which he
used to explain the inheritance of traits.
According to him, each parent is able to transfer one
allele to offspring. (Alleles are the alternative forms or versions
of genes and the phenotype or actual appearance of the
offspring depends on the dominance of the genes that have
 Hardy-Weinber
Principle
Testing for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can be used to assess
whether a population is evolving.
 HARDV -
WEINBERQ
Godf rey a EQUILIBRIUM
populations allele and Wilhelm
genotype frequencies
Hardy are constant, Weinberg
unless there is some type
of evolutionary force acting
upon them
Hardy-Wemberg Principle
The Hardy-Weinberg principle is used to determine if evolution is
occurring in a population. This name comes from the names of a
physician and mathematician, Godfrey Hardy and Wilhelm
Weinberg. The Hardy-Weinberg principle shows the equilibrium or
balance of allele frequency in a population, meaning that no
evolution occurs even in several consecutive generations of a
population. It will only change if there is a so-called evolutionary
force that will cause genetic variation, and this is what is called the
mechanism of evolution.
 The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that allele and
genotype frequencies remain stable in a population over
generations if certain conditions are met:
ASSUMPTIONS OF HARDY - WEINBER6 EQUILIBRIUM
1. No Selection Z. No Hutation
• If a population is
not in Hardy-
Weinberg
equilibrium, it
x
t\ Large Population 5. Random hating
can be
concluded that
the populaton is
evolving.
pAmoebaSisters
 . No natural selection. All alleles confer equal fitness

(make organisms equally likely to survive and reproduce)

2. No mutation. No new alleles are generated by
mutation, nor are genes duplicated or deleted.
3. No migration (gene flow). Neither individuals nor their
gametes (e.g., windborne pollen) enter or exit the
population.
4. Very large population size. The population should
be effectively infinite in size.
5. Random mating. Organisms mate randomly with
each other, with no preference for particular genotypes.
Thank you for
listening!