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OUR COUNTRY IS often referred to as a \"melting pot\" but that term is probably

ID: 255021 • Letter: O

Question

OUR COUNTRY IS often referred to as a "melting pot" but that term is probably more appropriately applied to the manner in which we quickly assimilate each other's cultures rather than our genes. Blonde hair and blue eyes, for instance, are still predominantly found in individuals of German or Scandinavian ancestry evern though many of the cultural attributes of those groups (such as an appreciation of beer) are found throughout our society. How might you take into account population substructuring (ethnic groups or other collections of individuals that prevent the totally random exchange of genetic material) in determining the significance of a DNA profile match?

Explanation / Answer

United States is often referred to as the melting pot. In US, the population can be substructured. There are different racial groups like Hispanic, black, East Asian, American Indian, white in US. These groups exhibit different allele frequencies which makes it possible to have separate databases and for population subdivision.

Allele frequency is also called gene frequency. It is defined as the relative frequency of an allele at a specific locus in a population. It is expressed as a percentage or fraction.