AIIMS 2019 Botany Population Genetics MCQ Question

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium describes a population where allele frequencies remain constant over generations, assuming no evolutionary influences. Natural selection disrupts this equilibrium by favoring certain alleles over others, leading to changes in allele frequencies. New mutations (option B) introduce new alleles but do not directly affect existing allele frequencies unless they confer a selective advantage. Genetic drift (option C) can impact small populations but is not a primary factor in the context of the Hardy-Weinberg model, which assumes an infinitely large population. Thus, while natural selection is a direct disruptor of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the other options do not inherently lead to changes in allele frequencies in the same way.