NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Natural selection acts on an organism’s phenotype, or observable features. Phenotype is often largely a product of genotype (the alleles, or gene versions, the organism carries).

Detailed explanation-2: -Natural selection works on the phenotype of an organism because this is what interacts with the environment. The phenotype is the observable traits and physical qualities that help an organism survive in the environment. The genotype controls the phenotype by expressing proteins that create the observable traits.

Detailed explanation-3: -Natural selection acts on populations. Individuals do not evolve in genetic evolutionary terms. Individuals may mutate, but natural selection acts by shifting the characteristics of the population as a whole.

Detailed explanation-4: -Selection acts on phenotypes because differential reproduction and survivorship depend on phenotype. If the phenotype affecting reproduction or survivorship is genetically based, then selection can winnow out genotypes indirectly by winnowing out phenotypes.

Detailed explanation-5: -Natural selection acts on the phenotype (the traits or characteristics) of an individual. On the other hand, natural selection does not act on the underlying genotype (the genetic makeup) of an individual. For many traits, the homozygous genotype, AA, for example, has the same phenotype as the heterozygous Aa genotype.