The accurate statement about natural selection from the provided options is:
Natural selection does not change the alleles an organism has.
This statement is true because natural selection acts on the existing alleles in a population—it can influence which alleles are passed on to the next generation based on their effects on survival and reproductive success. However, it does not change the alleles themselves; rather, it changes the frequency of those alleles in the population over time.
The other statements are inaccurate:
- Natural selection can impact reproduction rates indirectly by favoring traits that enhance reproductive success.
- Natural selection can indeed result in gene inactivation through various mechanisms, such as selective pressures favoring certain traits.
- Mutations are a source of genetic variation on which natural selection acts, so it can occur through mutations that introduce new alleles into a population.