New research refutes the hypothesis
that African lions consist of a single,
randomly breeding (panmictic)
population. (Credit: iStockphoto,
Peter Malsbury)
by Elio
A recent encounter with this term prompted a Web search for its precise meaning. Here is a sampling of the definitions we found.
- A panmictic population is one where all individuals are potential partners. This assumes that there are no mating restrictions, neither genetic or behavioural, upon the population... (LINK)
- Refers to a population in which mating is completely random (as opposed to assortative mating between certain adults in the population). (LINK)
- Random mating of individuals within a population, the breeding individuals showing no tendency to choose partners with particular traits. (LINK)
- Random mating, no sexual selection. (LINK)
- The state of a population in which each organism has an equal chance to interbreed with every other organism. (LINK)
- The process in a population by which mates are chosen at random with equal probability regardless of geographical location or genotype. (LINK)
Sample usage of the term in a sentence: Some species (e.g., Salmonella) were found to be clonal at all levels of analysis. At the other extreme, Neisseria gonorrhoeae is panmictic, with random association between loci.
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