Considering the overall human population of the U.S. mainland at the time when the slave trade brought large numbers of people from equatorial Africa, what was primarily acting to change the frequency of the sickle-cell allele in the overall U.S. population?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The primary factor that changed the frequency of the sickle-cell allele in the overall U.S. population during the slave trade was gene flow, i.e., the introduction of large numbers of individuals with the sickle-cell allele from equatorial Africa. Natural selection, genetic drift, and founder effect may have played minor roles but were not the primary factors.

Considering the Overall Human Population of the U