founder effect

American  

noun

Biology.

1. the accumulation of random genetic changes in an isolated population as a result of its proliferation from only a few parent colonizers.

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Example Sentences

In isolated populations like Sardinia’s, where inbreeding was common, such rare variants can become more frequent, a phenomenon called the founder effect.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 20, 2024

However, the bottleneck effect reduces or eliminates alleles within a population, whereas the founder effect introduces or increases alleles.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Both the bottleneck effect and the founder effect reduce genetic variation within a population—and genetic variation is the basis for natural selection.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Both the bottleneck and founder effect change the genetic structure of a population.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

However, the bottleneck effect occurs when inbreeding depression kills off part of a population, whereas the founder effect relies on nonrandom mating.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022