Unusually high rates of rare heritable traits,such as achromatopsia in the Pingelapese people,is often due to ________.
A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) hitchhiking
D) the founder effect
E) None of the above.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The founder effect occurs when a small group of individuals separate from a larger population and establishes a new population. The new population may not have as much genetic variation as the original population, resulting in higher frequencies of certain rare traits due to chance rather than natural selection. Achromatopsia is a rare genetic disorder that may be more prevalent in the Pingelapese people due to the founder effect.

Unusually High Rates of Rare Heritable Traits,such as Achromatopsia in the Pingelapese