Which of the following would, if it had acted upon a gene, prevent this gene from acting as a reliable molecular clock? Which of the following would, if it had acted upon a gene, prevent this gene from acting as a reliable molecular clock? mutations within introns natural selection neutral mutations genetic drift

Natural selection

Explanation:

Natural selection acted up on gene, prevents the gene from acting as a reliable molecular clock

Molecular clock measures the number of changes, or mutations, which accumulate in the gene sequences of different species over time; proves to be a valuable tool for estimating evolutionary timescales Natural selection is simply a concept of evolution where organisms with favorable traits are more likely to reproduce When natural selection is acted up on a gene governing the molecular clock then that gene won't be reliable because natural selection favors only the dominant gene The one's which are dominant and have desirable characteristics are favored under natural selection rest all species are eliminated whereas molecular clocks takes into the consideration the gene sequences of different species and the mutations occurring (irrespective of dominant or recessive species) Therefore natural selection will prevent the gene to work as reliable molecular clock whereas neutral mutation forms a base for molecular clocks