Underdominance
Encyclopedia
In genetics
, underdominance is the opposite of overdominance
. It is the selection
against the mean
of a population distribution, causing disruptive selection and divergent genotype
s. Underdominance can also be described as homozygote advantage, wherein homozygous individuals have a higher fitness than heterozygous individuals.
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, underdominance is the opposite of overdominance
Overdominance
Overdominance is a condition in genetics where the phenotype of the heterozygote lies outside of the phenotypical range of both homozygote parents. Overdominance can also be described as heterozygote advantage, wherein heterozygous individuals have a higher fitness than homozygous individuals.An...
. It is the selection
Selection
In the context of evolution, certain traits or alleles of genes segregating within a population may be subject to selection. Under selection, individuals with advantageous or "adaptive" traits tend to be more successful than their peers reproductively—meaning they contribute more offspring to the...
against the mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
of a population distribution, causing disruptive selection and divergent genotype
Genotype
The genotype is the genetic makeup of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific character under consideration...
s. Underdominance can also be described as homozygote advantage, wherein homozygous individuals have a higher fitness than heterozygous individuals.