Why are mutation and recombination the only processes that can increase genetic variation?
A)They are the only processes that can produce new alleles.
B)They are the only processes that change allele frequency.
C)They are the only processes that cannot be influenced by artificial selection.
D)They are the only processes that are not random.
E)They are the only processes that can produce deleterious results.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mutation creates new alleles by altering the DNA sequence, while recombination shuffles existing alleles to create new combinations. Therefore, these two processes are the only ones that can introduce novel genetic variation into a population. The other choices are not accurate - genetic variation can also be changed by natural and artificial selection, genetic drift, and gene flow, and mutation and recombination can both produce advantageous or neutral as well as deleterious results.

Why Are Mutation and Recombination the Only Processes That Can