ISBN: | 978-5-5137-5108-3 |
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Balancing selection refers to a number of selective processes by which multiple alleles (different versions of a gene) are actively maintained in the gene pool of a population at frequencies above that of gene mutation. This usually happens when the heterozygotes for the alleles under consideration have a higher adaptive value than the homozygote. In this way genetic polymorphism is conserved.