CharlesDarwin framed the idea of evolution and suggested that natural selection and inheritedcharacteristics essentially represented genetic variation. Genes,or the differences in the alleles carried by individuals in a population,account for the observed genetic changes and are the basis of evolution(Leicht and McAllister 2017).
Evolution has been the main thrust amongstgenotypic and phenotypic modifications on earth since human creation; thesefluctuations in evolution are driven by natural selection. Through the Hardy-Weinbergequilibrium equation, it is known that allelic and genotypic frequencies stay continuousin a population when evolutionary factors are absent. By examining the allelicratios of a certain population, one can determine if the data group is inequilibrium and whether natural selection has any effect on the selected genes.Inthis experiment, genes at the loci TAS2R38 and LCT were tested, which allow oneto taste the sour substance PTC, and produce lactase to break down lactose. Thecapacity to taste PTC is less critical than the capacity to create lactase inthe human body, and is observed to be genetic in families. (Wooding, 2006) Hypolactasiais a typical condition that emerges in adults that eliminates the capability toproduce lactase due to a base pair change in the DNA sequence. (Enattah, 233) Thesecircumstances could be influenced by genetic drift, which is the arbitrary adjustmentin allelic frequencies in a population over time or generation. Genetic driftcan be caused by a abrupt reduction in a population or the production ofanother population that makes the allelic frequencies fluctuate more than theyordinarily would (Star, Effects ofGenetic Drift).
Toestablish a genotype from DNA sequences, PCR is utilized to amplify thespecimen to examine the results, and afterwards the DNA is cut into restrictionfragment length polymorphisms (RFLP’s) by restriction enzymes. The DNA portiontravels through a gel filled with 1X TBE to a positive cathode when provoked byan electrical current; the longer cuts will stop earlier than the shorter ones.Restriction enzymes identify DNA arrangements to cut at, displaying dominant orrecessive allele patterns. The two loci were picked on the grounds that theycontain single nucleotide polymorphisms, which are preserved among evolution(Leicht and McAllister 2017). With careful examination of these two loci, anull hypothesis was made, expressing that the small test group analyzed was nota precise portrayal of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for the TAS2R38 gene and theLCT gene displays an accurate representation of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. Theallelic and genotypic frequencies of TAS2R38 were not probable to fit theHardy-Weinberg Principle and variation would be noticeable in the locus. The LCT chi square test is a good fit for equilibrium,meaning no genetic variation would be present over a generation.
On the otherhand, TAS2R38 is not a good fit for
