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Evolution Acts on the Phenotype Say Thanks to the Authors Click http://www.ck12.org/saythanks (No sign in required) To access a customizable version of this book, as well as other interactive content, visit www.ck12.org CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide. Using an open-content, web-based collaborative model termed the FlexBook®, CK-12 intends to pioneer the generation and distribution of high-quality educational content that will serve both as core text as well as provide an adaptive environment for learning, powered through the FlexBook Platform®. Copyright © 2013 CK-12 Foundation, www.ck12.org The names “CK-12” and “CK12” and associated logos and the terms “FlexBook®” and “FlexBook Platform®” (collectively “CK-12 Marks”) are trademarks and service marks of CK-12 Foundation and are protected by federal, state, and international laws. Any form of reproduction of this book in any format or medium, in whole or in sections must include the referral attribution link http://www.ck12.org/saythanks (placed in a visible location) in addition to the following terms. Except as otherwise noted, all CK-12 Content (including CK-12 Curriculum Material) is made available to Users in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution/NonCommercial/Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/), as amended and updated by Creative Commons from time to time (the “CC License”), which is incorporated herein by this reference. Complete terms can be found at http://www.ck12.org/terms. Printed: April 16, 2013 www.ck12.org C ONCEPT Concept 1. Evolution Acts on the Phenotype 1 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? 1 www.ck12.org 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. 2 www.ck12.org 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 3