A beneficial allele rising to fixation reduces nearby genetic variation through hitchhiking.
A strongly beneficial new mutation spreads rapidly, dragging linked neutral variants along (genetic hitchhiking), leaving a dip in diversity around it. Hard sweeps involve one origin and soft sweeps multiple.
Detecting sweeps highlights recent adaptation.
A beneficial allele rising to fixation reduces nearby genetic variation through hitchhiking.
Selective Sweeps is one of the 53 topics in Evolution. It is rated Advanced, so it suits learners who want specialist depth. Related topics in this area include Founder Effect and Bottleneck, Neutral Theory, Evolution.
Signals of sweeps are found around the lactase persistence gene in Europeans.
Work through the Beginner topics in Evolution first, such as Evolution, Natural Selection, Charles Darwin, then return to Selective Sweeps. Advanced topics assume the Intermediate vocabulary.
The closest topics to Selective Sweeps are Founder Effect and Bottleneck, Neutral Theory, Evolution, Macroevolution. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Selective Sweeps. To practise the whole of Evolution, use the Evolution quiz.
Selective Sweeps: A beneficial allele rising to fixation reduces nearby genetic variation through hitchhiking. Founder Effect and Bottleneck: Loss of genetic diversity after a few individuals found a new population or numbers crash. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Founder Effect and Bottleneck and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Evolution quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Loss of genetic diversity after a few individuals found a new population or numbers crash.
🦎 EvolutionProposes that most molecular variation results from drift of selectively neutral mutations rather than selection.
🦎 EvolutionChange in the inherited characteristics of populations over successive generations.
🦎 EvolutionEvolutionary patterns above the species level, including origins of major groups and mass extinctions.
🦎 Evolution