Definition of genetic drift in English:

genetic drift


  • [mass noun] Variation in the relative frequency of different genotypes in a small population, owing to the chance disappearance of particular genes as individuals die or do not reproduce.

    • ‘In the absence of selection, these values reflect divergence in allele frequencies due to genetic drift.’
    • ‘The first alternative is that the long basal branches are simply the chance result of genetic drift in a large, panmictic ancestral population.’
    • ‘The relative importance of selection and genetic drift in the evolution of duplicated genes is under debate.’
    • ‘Rare and endangered species are susceptible to loss of genetic variation through genetic drift in small populations.’
    • ‘This is different than the traditional effective sizes, which are descriptions of the equilibrium behavior of genetic drift in the population.’