Gene Pool

Synonyms

Gene; Genotype; Heredity

Definition

The sum of all the genes in a given population at a given time can be referred to as gene pool. The term gene pool is used in reference to a population which includes all individuals of the same species and includes all genes and combinations of genes (sum of all the alleles) in the population.

Introduction

The concept of gene pool was given by Russian geneticist Aleksandr Sergeevich Serebrovskii in the 1920s as genofond (gene fund). The term “Genofond”was imported to the United States from the Soviet Union by Theodosius Dobzhansky, who translated it into English as “gene pool.” Gene pool refers to the collection of genes in an interbreeding population that includes each gene at a certain frequency in relation to its alleles. The gene pool is a measure of generic diversity. The composition of a population’s gene pool can change over time through evolution. This can occur by a variety of mechanisms such as mutations leading to genetic...