Muller's ratchet is the

a. breaking down of adaptive combinations of genes by recombination.

b. elimination of deleterious mutations due to sexual reproduction.

c. maintenance of genetic variation via disruptive selection.

d. crossing over and independent assortment of chromosomes during meiosis.

e. accumulation of deleterious mutations in asexual lineages.

Question

Biology

Brisa Holder

7 September, 10:34

Muller's ratchet is the

a. breaking down of adaptive combinations of genes by recombination.

b. elimination of deleterious mutations due to sexual reproduction.

c. maintenance of genetic variation via disruptive selection.

d. crossing over and independent assortment of chromosomes during meiosis.

e. accumulation of deleterious mutations in asexual lineages.

+2

Answers (1)

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Gilmore · Answer 1

Answer: e. accumulation of deleterious mutations in asexual lineages.

Explanation:

Muller's ratchet is a process of deleterious mutation accumulation that can drive to the extermination of a population of asexuals. This Ratched would ultimately create a vicious cycle of mutation accumulation that would lead to a population decline and finally pushes an entire population to extinction, which is called mutational meltdown. Muller's Ratchet has been invoked to explain the evolution of sex, the extinction of small populations, the accelerated rate of evolution of endosymbiotic bacteria, the degeneration of Y-chromosomes, and cancer progression