Bottleneck and Founder Effect
By: BD Editors
Last Updated: January 24, 2018
The founder effect describes when a small group of individuals separates from a larger group and expresses genes that were rare in the original population. If this happens, the rare gene or genes start to become common in the next generations. In contrast, the bottleneck effect happens when a random catastrophe like an earthquake kills off most of a population. In this situation, the genes in the surviving population occur randomly. The common thread that runs through both the founder effect and the bottleneck effect is that they reduce the amount of genetic diversity in a population. Comparison Chart Founder Effect Bottleneck Effect Reduces genetic diversity Yes Yes Cause Separation of a small group of individuals from a larger population. The destruction of most of a population. Results in a random sample of genes from the original population. No Yes Probability of inbreeding High Very high Can result in speciation Yes Yes Examples Fumarase deficiency in Mormons. Tay-Sachs disease in some Jewish populations. High incidence of deaf individuals in Martha’s Vineyard. The origination of man in Africa and his migration to other parts of the world. Artificially induced by the selective breeding of cats, dogs, cattle, horses, etc. Any endangered species are going through a bottleneck event. The recovery of the European Bison from the brink of extinction and their current reproductive difficulties. References Brennan, J. (Updated April 25, 2017). Comparison of the bottleneck effect and the founder effect. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/comparison-bottleneck-effect-founder-effect-5188.html The Microevolution Debate: Bottleneck Effect vs Founder Effect. (n.d.). Retrieved December 27, 2017 from https://biologywise.com/bottleneck-effect-vs-founder-effect
Comparison Chart
Founder Effect Bottleneck Effect Reduces genetic diversity Yes Yes Cause Separation of a small group of individuals from a larger population. The destruction of most of a population. Results in a random sample of genes from the original population. No Yes Probability of inbreeding High Very high Can result in speciation Yes Yes Examples Fumarase deficiency in Mormons. Tay-Sachs disease in some Jewish populations. High incidence of deaf individuals in Martha’s Vineyard. The origination of man in Africa and his migration to other parts of the world. Artificially induced by the selective breeding of cats, dogs, cattle, horses, etc. Any endangered species are going through a bottleneck event. The recovery of the European Bison from the brink of extinction and their current reproductive difficulties.
References
Fumarase deficiency in Mormons. Tay-Sachs disease in some Jewish populations. High incidence of deaf individuals in Martha’s Vineyard. The origination of man in Africa and his migration to other parts of the world.
Artificially induced by the selective breeding of cats, dogs, cattle, horses, etc. Any endangered species are going through a bottleneck event. The recovery of the European Bison from the brink of extinction and their current reproductive difficulties.
Brennan, J. (Updated April 25, 2017). Comparison of the bottleneck effect and the founder effect. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/comparison-bottleneck-effect-founder-effect-5188.html The Microevolution Debate: Bottleneck Effect vs Founder Effect. (n.d.). Retrieved December 27, 2017 from https://biologywise.com/bottleneck-effect-vs-founder-effect
