Effective Population Size and Evolution of Mutation Rates

Explore the fundamental concepts of effective population size and its relationship to mutation rate evolution in this 35-minute lecture. Examine how effective population size influences heterozygosity levels within populations and understand the drift-barrier hypothesis that explains the evolutionary dynamics of mutation rates. Analyze the interplay between genetic drift and natural selection in determining optimal mutation rates across different population sizes, and discover how smaller populations may accumulate higher mutation rates due to reduced efficacy of selection against deleterious mutations.