What Would Happen If a Mutation Created a New Allele

question 70

Multiple Choice

What would happen if a mutation created a new allele that decreased fitness?

• A) The new allele would spread through the population and decrease the fitness of that population.
• B) The new allele would decrease the fitness of the individual that possessed it, and that individual would have few or no offspring.
• C) The new allele would have to change back to an allele of higher fitness so the possessor of that allele could maintain its fitness.
• D) The individual with the new allele would wait for an environmental change so that its fitness would increase again.

---

Definitions:

Methanol

A simple alcohol with the chemical formula CH3OH, used as a solvent, antifreeze, or fuel.

HCl

Hydrochloric acid, a strong acidic compound of hydrogen chloride in water, commonly used in industrial and laboratory settings.

Distamycin

A small molecule that binds to minor grooves of DNA, notable for its role in scientific research related to DNA interactions.

Acid Hydrolysis

A chemical process in which a compound is broken down by reaction with water and an acid, resulting in the formation of one or more new substances.