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Evolution Acts on the
Phenotype
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Printed: April 16, 2013
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C ONCEPT
Concept 1. Evolution Acts on the Phenotype
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Evolution Acts on the
Phenotype
• Explain how an unfavorable allele is kept in the gene pool.
Would albinism be an advantage?
This young man is albino, meaning he lacks pigment in his skin, hair, and eyes. The same thing happens in other
species. Albinism would be a disadvantage to most animals since they need to blend into their environment to avoid
predators or catch prey. How, then, does the gene that causes albinism stay in the gene pool?
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Evolution Acts on the Phenotype
Natural selection acts on the phenotype (traits or characteristics) of an individual. On the other hand, natural
selection does not act on the underlying genotype (the genetic makeup) of an individual. For many traits, the
homozygous genotype, AA, for example, has the same phenotype as the heterozygous Aa genotype. If both an AA
and Aa individual have the same phenotype, the environment cannot distinguish between them. So natural selection
cannot select for a homozygous individual over a heterozygous individual. Even if the "aa" phenotype is lethal,
the recessive a allele, will be maintained in the population through heterozygous Aa individuals. Furthermore, the
mating of two heterozygous individuals can produce homozygous recessive (aa) individuals.
Carriers
Since natural selection acts on the phenotype, if an allele causes death in a homozygous individual, aa, for example,
it will not cause death in a heterozygous Aa individual. These heterozygous Aa individuals will then act as carriers
of the a allele, meaning that the a allele could be passed down to offspring. This allele is said to be kept in the
population’s gene pool. The gene pool is the complete set of alleles within a population.
For example, Tay-Sachs disease is a recessive human genetic disorder. That means only individuals with the
homozygous recessive genotype, rr will be affected. Affected individuals usually die from complications of the
disease in early childhood. The two parents are each heterozygous (Rr) for the Tay-Sachs gene; they will not die in
childhood and will be carriers of the disease gene. This deadly allele is kept in the gene pool even though it does not
help humans adapt to their environment. This happens because evolution acts on the phenotype, not the genotype
(Figure 1.1).
FIGURE 1.1
Tay-Sachs disease is inherited in the autosomal recessive pattern. Each parent is
an unaffected carrier of the lethal allele.
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Concept 1. Evolution Acts on the Phenotype
Vocabulary
• carrier: Individual who is heterozygous (Aa) for a recessive trait; a carrier can pass the allele for a trait to the
offspring, but does not express the trait.
• gene pool: Complete set of alleles in a population.
• genotype: Genetic makeup of an individual.
• phenotype: Traits or characteristics of an individual.
Summary
• Natural selection acts on the phenotype (the traits or characteristics) of an individual, not on the underlying
genotype.
• Carriers of a trait can show no symptoms of a recessive disease and, yet, still pass it on to their offspring.
Practice
Use the resource below to answer the questions that follow.
• Harmful Genes at http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/mole00/mole00460.htm.
1. What would happen if a harmful gene were dominant?
2. How can a harmful gene "hide"?
Review
1. What’s the difference between phenotype and genotype?
2. Explain how a lethal recessive gene can stay in the gene pool.
References
1. CK-12 Foundation - Zachary Wilson. . CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0
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