Drift & Selection on rare alleles with weak selective
advantage in finite populations
(N =
100, f(B0) = 0.005, W0 = W1
= 0.99, W2 = 1.0)
Trajectories of a weakly advantageous (s = -0.01) mutant allele in multiple
populations (N = 100 @). From a single
copy of such an allele (initial f(B) = 1/200
= 0.005), almost all populations go to f(B) =
0.0 within 25 generations; two populations
remain polymorphic at 50 ~ 100 generation, and only one goes
to f(B) = 1, despite the selective advantage of B
in the BB genotype. Note that once f(B) =
0.1, f(BB) = 0.01, so that one BB
homozygote is expected in a population of N = 100.
For f(B) = 0.2, f(BB) = 0.04,
with the expectation of four BB homozygotes. This
is the approximate threshold for f(B) to go to
fixation, as seen here.
Stochastic genetic drift in a population
of moderate size has a greater effect than does weak
directional deterministic selection. Note that s >
1/2N.
Text material
© 2024 by Steven M. Carr