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Practice question

Question

Inbreeding leads to

Options

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Explanation

Inbreeding denotes mating between relatives sharing alleles identical by descent from common ancestor, increasing probability offspring receives same ancestral allele from both parents via two lineages. This elevates autozygosity, converting heterozygotes into homozygotes without altering allele frequencies in population. Inbreeding coefficient F quantifies fractional reduction in heterozygosity relative to random mating expectation, with genotype frequencies p squared plus pqF, two pq times one minus F, q squared plus pqF. Consequences include increased expression of recessive deleterious alleles and inbreeding depression affecting fitness.