Answer: e. accumulation of deleterious mutations in asexual lineages.
Explanation:
Muller's ratchet is a process of deleterious mutation accumulation that can drive to the extermination of a population of asexuals. This Ratched would ultimately create a vicious cycle of mutation accumulation that would lead to a population decline and finally pushes an entire population to extinction, which is called mutational meltdown. Muller’s Ratchet has been invoked to explain the evolution of sex, the extinction of small populations, the accelerated rate of evolution of endosymbiotic bacteria, the degeneration of Y-chromosomes, and cancer progression
