Measuring genetic diversity

• What does genetic diversity mean?

  Genetic diversity refers to the variety of alleles within or between species.
• How can genetic diversity be assessed?

  By comparing:

  • The frequency of measurable or observable characteristics
  • The base sequence of DNA
  • The base sequence of mRNA
  • The amino acid sequence of proteins
• Why is it more useful to analyse DNA sequences than observing physical traits?

  It is more reliable and accurate
• Why are samples taken when measuring variation within a population?

  This is because it would be too time-consuming and potentially impossible to record data on every individual within a population.
• How do you investigate variation scientifically?

  • Data should be collected using random sampling to avoid bias.
  • Take large samples to ensure results are representative of the population.
  • A mean is calculated to summarise the data.
  • The standard deviation is calculated to show the spread of values around the mean, which helps assess how much variation exists.
  • Statistics and standard deviation values can be used to interpret and compare if the variation between different groups is significant.