mutational meltdown

noun

The process by which a small population accumulates harmful mutations, which leads to loss of fitness and decline of the population size, which may lead to further accumulation of deleterious mutations due to fixation by genetic drift.

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Meanings

nounmutational meltdown (countable and uncountable, plural mutational meltdowns)

plural mutational meltdowns

  1. countableuncountablebiologyThe process by which a small population accumulates harmful mutations, which leads to loss of fitness and decline of the population size, which may lead to further accumulation of deleterious mutations due to fixation by genetic drift.
Cite this entry
APA

mutational meltdown. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mutational%20meltdown

MLA

“mutational meltdown.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mutational%20meltdown. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mutational meltdown,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mutational%20meltdown.

Source: mutational meltdown on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.