ROLE OF MUTATION IN GENE POOL AND HOW MUTATION GENE POOL AND EVOLUTION ARE INTERRELATED ???

A gene pool may be defined as the total variety of genes and alleys present in a sexually reproducing population . In a population there are many possible alleles for all genes. Thus, gene pool is the total genetic make up of an entire population . A population whose gene pool shows consistent changes from generation to generation is undergoing evolutionary change.

Mutation is one of the factors which influence gene frequency in a population. It causes new heritable variations in organisms . The number of mutant alleles in the population will increase in subsequent generations and the gene pool of the population will slowly change . Thus , the frequency of alleles also changes in subsequent generations.

Ville and. Dethier (1971) further mentioned that gene pool of a population may be changed by mutation,by introduction of genes from some outside population into this population or by natural selection.

Although mutation are rare event,they are continually occurring and bringing about changes in gene frequency. The mutation in fact may changed the alleluia frequencies in a gene pool and also,
provide new genetic information, thus increasing the genetic variability in the gene pool and provide raw material for evolution .