Gene Pool
Synonyms
Definition
The sum of all the genes in a given population at a given time can be referred to as gene pool. The term gene pool is used in reference to a population which includes all individuals of the same species and includes all genes and combinations of genes (sum of all the alleles) in the population.
Introduction
The concept of gene pool was given by Russian geneticist Aleksandr Sergeevich Serebrovskii in the 1920s as genofond (gene fund). The term “Genofond”was imported to the United States from the Soviet Union by Theodosius Dobzhansky, who translated it into English as “gene pool.” Gene pool refers to the collection of genes in an interbreeding population that includes each gene at a certain frequency in relation to its alleles. The gene pool is a measure of generic diversity. The composition of a population’s gene pool can change over time through evolution. This can occur by a variety of mechanisms such as mutations leading to genetic...
References
- Harlan, J. R., & de Wet, J. M. (1971). Toward a rational classification of cultivated plants. Taxon, 20, 509–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Web References
- Biology Online. (2008). Gene pool. Retrieved 11 Dec 2017. Available from http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Gene_pool
- My Agriculture Information Bank. (2015). The gene pool system of classification. Retrieved 21 Nov 2017. Available from http://www.agriinfo.in/default.aspx?page=topic&superid=3&topicid=2101
- Windows to the Universe. (2011). Changes to the gene pool: Microevolution. Retrieved 16 Nov 2017. Available from https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Life/genetics_microevolution.html