In population genetics, genetic load or genetic burden is a measure of the cost of lost alleles due to selection (selectional load) or mutation (mutational load). It is a value in the range, where 0 represents no load. The concept was first formulated in 1937 by JBS Haldane, independently formulated, named and applied to humans in 1950 by H. J. Muller, and elaborated further by Haldane in 1957.
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