Title: genetic adaptation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - genetic adaptation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.14711
Status: current

Definition
Result of random genetic variation due to mutation and (or) to changes in allele frequencies, causing variation in the survival and reproductive success of individuals and hence of groups of organisms, with the consequence that those best adjusted to their environment flourish.

Note
This process underlies the concept of natural selection leading to Darwinian evolution.

Related Term
- natural selection: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14871

Source
- PAC, 2009, 81, 829. 'Glossary of terms used in ecotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2009)' on page 890 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-08-07-09)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14711/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14711/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14711/xml

Citation: Citation: 'genetic adaptation' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.14711
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Accessed: 2026-06-28T17:14:34+00:00