Thirty people are selected for a long-term mission to colonize a planet many light-years away from Earth. The mission is successful, and the population rapidly grows to several hundred individuals. However, certain genetic diseases are unusually common in this group, and the group's gene pool is quite different from that of the Earth population they have left behind. Which of the following phenomena has left its mark on this population?
A) founder effect
B) bottleneck effect
C) high rates of mutation
D) natural selection

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The founder effect occurs when a small group of individuals establish a new population and they carry only a fraction of the genetic diversity present in the original population. This can lead to the increased prevalence of specific genetic traits due to chance. In this scenario, the original colonizing group represents a small sample of the Earth population, and this founder effect likely led to the increased prevalence of certain genetic diseases. The bottleneck effect occurs when a population is drastically reduced in size, leading to reduced genetic diversity, but this does not seem to be the case here. High rates of mutation and natural selection do not necessarily result in the increased prevalence of specific genetic diseases, as they are not directly related to the accumulation of genetic variation in a population.

Thirty People Are Selected for a Long-Term Mission to Colonize