How often a particular gene occurs in a population refers to what term?

The term used to describe how often a particular gene occurs in a population is known as gene frequency. This concept is an important aspect of population genetics, as it helps in understanding the genetic diversity within a population and how this can change over time due to various evolutionary mechanisms such as natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow.

Gene frequency is often expressed as a proportion or a percentage, indicating the relative occurrence of a specific allele in the gene pool of that population. For example, if a gene has two alleles, A and a, the frequency can tell us how common allele A is compared to allele a. Recognizing gene frequency allows scientists and researchers to track changes in genetic traits over generations, providing insights into evolutionary processes and the health of populations.

In contrast, the other terms refer to different concepts. The gene pool refers to the total collection of genes in a population, genetic diversity focuses on the variety of genes within that pool, and genetic equilibrium relates to a state where allele frequencies remain constant over generations in the absence of external evolutionary forces.