Genetic Drift and Mutation

TL;DR

This paper explores how genetic drift and inbreeding in small populations can facilitate the fixation of mutations, proposing a mathematical model that highlights inbreeding as a trigger for mutation fixation in larger populations.

Contribution

It introduces a mathematical framework showing inbreeding's role in accelerating mutation fixation through genetic drift.

Findings

Inbreeding can trigger mutation fixation in small populations.

Mutations can become fixed in large populations via inbreeding effects.

Mathematical model supports inbreeding as a mechanism for mutation fixation.

Abstract

In genetic drift of small population, it is well known that even when the ratio of alleles is 0.5, specific genes are fixed in or disappear from the population. It seems the reason why inbreeding is avoided. On the other hand, this phenomenon suggests an interesting possibility. The mutant gene does not increase the number of genes at once in a large population. A gene is partially fixed by increasing the number within a small population because of inbreeding, and the gene increases in a large group by Darwin's natural selection. It would be more reasonable to think in this way. We studied this mathematically based on the concept of genetic drift. This suggested that inbreeding could be useful as a trigger for fixation of mutation.