Pretend you are a biologist analyzing mutations occurring in the DNA of an endangered species. In three to five sentences, describe what changes you are analyzing in an animal and how they are impacting its survival (either positively or negatively). Explain how you would determine that the mutations were new mutations rather than solidified traits. Additionally, describe how biologists might use this analysis to promote the survival of the species.

The biologist is analyzing deleterious and beneficial mutations.

Explanation:

In general, mutations are deleterious genetic changes that negatively affect the fitness of the individual in a particular environment. However, there are occasions where a mutation may be beneficial. These mutations are beneficial because they confer an adaptive advantage (for example, by generating new versions of proteins) that enable the individual to adapt to their environment, thereby increasing their chances to survive and reproduce. If a beneficial mutation is new it will be distributed disproportionately among populations, thereby it is possible to determine the novelty by determining the frequency of the mutation among populations. Ideally, this new mutation should have a value of 0 in the non-target populations (i.e., this mutation does not exist in these populations), and a very low value in the target population (i.e., this mutation appeared very recently). Since mutations provide the raw material for natural selection, it is expected that a new mutation increases their frequency in the population, but if this genetic change is deleterious in a particular environment, natural selection will decrease their frequency. Deleterious mutations are accumulated in populations with small sizes faster than it can eliminate them, thereby the identification of these genetic changes can result useful for the design of conservation strategies in endangered species.