What effect does mutation have on the genetic diversity within a population?
A) It decreases genetic diversity by removing alleles.
B) It has no effect on genetic diversity.
C) It increases genetic diversity by introducing new alleles.
D) It causes all individuals in the population to become genetically identical.



Answer :

Answer: C) It increases genetic diversity by introducing new alleles

Explanation: A mutation is an alteration to a genetic sequence of an individual. This can occur because nucleotides are added, deleted, substituted, or a mix of all 3 can occur at once within a DNA sequence. Nonetheless, mutations introduce new alleles and genetic sequences into the genome, thereby increasing genetic diversity within a population.

Choices A, B, and D are all incorrect because mutations do indeed have an effect on genetic diversity but increase genetic diversity rather than decrease it. This is because mutations introduce new nucleotide sequences that can result in new traits and adaptations, thus increasing diversity within a species.