During the Late Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague (sometimes known as the “Black D

Question

During the Late Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague (sometimes known as the “Black Death”) swept through Europe. This disease was caused by a bacterium known as Yersinia pestis, and it killed millions of Europeans. In total, about one third of the population died during the Bubonic Plague. Those who survived did NOT survive because they had resistance to plague. The remaining population was significantly reduced in size and had a reduced, random sampling of the total genetic variation found in the previous population.

Which of the following evolutionary forces is most likely involved in this scenario?

A. Mutation

B. Selection

C. Gene Flow

D. Genetic Drift

E. No evolutionary forces are involved

A. Mutation

B. Selection

C. Gene Flow

D. Genetic Drift

E. No evolutionary forces are involved

Explanation / Answer

Evolution means gradual change and development from past to the present situation. There are some basic forces of evolutionary process like mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and natural selection.

In the given scenario, genetic drift is most likely to be happened. Genetic Drift means the change in the frequency of a gene variant, called as allele, in a given population. If there are few copies of alleles, the genetic drift effect will be larger and if there are many copies, the genetic drift effect will be smaller.

The Black Death scenario can be an example of Darwinian natural selection. It may support that the surviving population may have had a difference from the people‘s genes who were dead – leading to genetic drift change.

So, the correct answer is option D. Genetic Drift.

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