Question

The O allele is unusually frequent in the Americas. What does this pattern suggest about the evolutionary history of these populations?

Answer 1

Answer:

Populations from the Americas started from a founding population with a high frequency of the O allele

Explanation:

Human blood type is determined by three different codominant alleles: IA, IB, and, which are named A (IA), B (IB), and O (i). Each person has two blood type alleles, i.e., one allele inherited from the mother and one from the father. The frequency of the O blood allele is very high in indigenous populations, and in Central and South American populations this allele may reach a frequency of 1 (100%). In consequence, the predominance of the O blood allele in Native American populations suggests that these populations descended from a founding population that had a high frequency of the O blood allele. A founder effect may even cause the fixation of one allele within a population, and this phenomenon is known to be associated with the loss of genetic variation.

Answer 2

Alleles are the variant of a gene, which codes for the different traits of an organism. It could be due to mutations or evolutionary adaptations. The presence of the O allele in Americans has a high frequency.

The evolutionary patterns of the Americans suggest that:

• The human blood type is coded by A, B, and O alleles. The individual has two alleles, which are inherited from the father and mother.

• The frequency of the O allele in the allele in the Americans is higher, which can reach up to the frequency of 100%.

• The evolutionary pattern suggests that these populations might have descendent from the population having O-blood type. The phenomenon is often explained as the result of the founder effect, which results in the loss of genetic variation.

Thus, the Americans might have descendent from the population having higher frequency for the O alleles.

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https://brainly.com/question/14437547