Heterozygote advantage is the situation where, at a gene locus, the heterozygote has greater fitness than either homozygote.p205 It is a type of balancing selection.
Heterozygote advantage
Questions and Answers
Q: What is heterozygote advantage?
A: Heterozygote advantage is a situation where an organism with two dissimilar alleles at a gene locus has greater fitness than an organism with two similar alleles.
Q: In which type of selection does heterozygote advantage occur?
A: Heterozygote advantage occurs in balancing selection.
Q: What is fitness?
A: Fitness refers to an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a certain environment.
Q: What is a gene locus?
A: A gene locus is the specific location of a gene on a chromosome.
Q: What are homozygotes?
A: Homozygotes are organisms with two identical alleles at a gene locus.
Q: What is balancing selection?
A: Balancing selection is a type of natural selection that maintains genetic variation in a population and can lead to the preservation of multiple alleles at a gene locus.
Q: How does heterozygote advantage contribute to genetic variation in a population?
A: Heterozygote advantage can contribute to genetic variation in a population by maintaining multiple alleles for a gene locus, as both alleles are beneficial and neither is selected against.