A genetic lineage includes all descendants of a given genetic sequence, typically following a new mutation. It is not the same as an allele because it excludes cases where different mutations give rise to the same allele, and includes descendants that differ from the ancestor by one or more mutations. The genetic sequence can be of different sizes, e.g. a single gene or a haplotype containing multiple adjacent genes along a chromosome. Given recombination, each gene can have a separate genetic lineages, even as the population shares a single organismal lineage. In asexual microbes or somatic cells, cell lineages exactly match genetic lineages, and can be traced.[1]
- ^ Levy, Sasha F.; Blundell, Jamie R.; Venkataram, Sandeep; Petrov, Dmitri A.; Fisher, Daniel S.; Sherlock, Gavin (March 2015). "Quantitative evolutionary dynamics using high-resolution lineage tracking". Nature. 519 (7542): 181–186. Bibcode:2015Natur.519..181L. doi:10.1038/nature14279. PMC 4426284. PMID 25731169.