Genetic drift

From Palaeos

Genetic drift refers to random changes in the frequency of genes in the population that are not due to selective pressure. This may occur because the different genotypes do not have a noticeable effect on the relative fitness of individuals (such as different mitochondrial haplotypes), or selection may not be strong enough to affect transmission of the genotype (for instance, on a recently-colonised island without predators). Genetic drift is a factor in neutral evolution.

The significance of genetic drift in evolution is uncertain. In a large population, most of the factors affected by genetic drift will be minor, and drift is probably not significant over the population as a whole. However, in a small, isolated population drift may have a significant effect on the makeup of the population.

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