Which of the following best describes the impact of purifying selection?

Explanation

The statement that best describes the impact of purifying selection is: "It removes variation from the population." Purifying selection, also known as negative or stabilizing selection, is a type of natural selection that operates to eliminate deleterious or harmful alleles from a population. It favors the preservation of advantageous alleles and the removal of deleterious ones, leading to a reduction in genetic diversity within the population over time. Essentially, purifying selection acts to "purify" the gene pool by removing harmful genetic variants and maintaining or increasing the prevalence of beneficial ones.