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Consider a population in which the frequency of allele \(A\) is \(p=0.7\) and the frequency of allele \(a\) is \(q=0.3,\) and where the alleles are codominant. What will be the allele frequencies after one generation if the following occurs? (a) \(w_{\mu}=1, w_{A a}=0.9, w_{a a}=0.8\) (b) \(w_{\mu}=1, w_{A a}=0.95, w_{a a}=0.9\) (c) \(w_{\mu}=1, w_{h a}=0.99, w_{a a}=0.98\) (d) \(w_{\mu}=0.8, w_{A a}=1, w_{a a}=0.8\)

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: (a) A: 0.7105, a: 0.2895 (b) A: 0.7165, a: 0.2835 (c) A: 0.7202, a: 0.2798 (d) A: 0.6764, a: 0.3236

Step by step solution

01

Review Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium proportions

For a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium with allele frequencies \(p\) and \(q\), the genotype frequencies are distributed as follows: \(AA: p^2\) \(Aa: 2 \times p \times q\) \(aa: q^2\) In this case: \(p^2=0.7^2=0.49\) \(2pq=2(0.7)(0.3)=0.42\) \(q^2=0.3^2=0.09\)
02

Calculate the average fitness

For each of the situations given (a, b, c, and d), we need to calculate the average fitness of the population. This can be calculated with the following equation: \(w_{avg} = w_{AA}p^2 + w_{Aa}(2pq) + w_{aa}q^2\) It is important to note that as the question has different notations for the w values, you need to pay attention to which notation is provided in each part of the exercise.
03

Calculate the new allele frequencies after one generation

The new allele frequencies after one generation can be calculated with the following equation: - For allele A: \(\frac{w_{AA}p^2 + 0.5(w_{Aa})(2pq)}{w_{avg}}\) - For allele a: \(\frac{w_{aa}q^2 + 0.5(w_{Aa})(2pq)}{w_{avg}}\) Now, let's address each situation one by one.
04

(a) \(w_{\mu}=1, w_{Aa}=0.9, w_{aa}=0.8\)

Calculate average fitness: \(w_{avg} = (1)(0.49) + (0.9)(0.42) + (0.8)(0.09) = 0.950\) Calculate new allele frequencies: \(p' = \frac{(1)(0.49) + 0.5(0.9)(0.42)}{0.950} = 0.7105\) \(q' = \frac{(0.8)(0.09) + 0.5(0.9)(0.42)}{0.950} = 0.2895\)
05

(b) \(w_{\mu}=1, w_{Aa}=0.95, w_{aa}=0.9\)

Calculate average fitness: \(w_{avg} = (1)(0.49) + (0.95)(0.42) + (0.9)(0.09) = 0.970\) Calculate new allele frequencies: \(p' = \frac{(1)(0.49) + 0.5(0.95)(0.42)}{0.970} = 0.7165\) \(q' = \frac{(0.9)(0.09) + 0.5(0.95)(0.42)}{0.970} = 0.2835\)
06

(c) \(w_{\mu}=1, w_{Aa}=0.99, w_{aa}=0.98\)

Calculate average fitness: (Using the right notation for this part) \(w_{avg} = (1)(0.49) + (0.99)(0.42) + (0.98)(0.09) = 0.990\) Calculate new allele frequencies: \(p' = \frac{(1)(0.49) + 0.5(0.99)(0.42)}{0.990} = 0.7202\) \(q' = \frac{(0.98)(0.09) + 0.5(0.99)(0.42)}{0.990} = 0.2798\)
07

(d) \(w_{\mu}=0.8, w_{Aa}=1, w_{aa}=0.8\)

Calculate average fitness: \(w_{avg} = (0.8)(0.49) + (1)(0.42) + (0.8)(0.09) = 0.890\) Calculate new allele frequencies: \(p' = \frac{(0.8)(0.49) + 0.5(1)(0.42)}{0.890} = 0.6764\) \(q' = \frac{(0.8)(0.09) + 0.5(1)(0.42)}{0.890} = 0.3236\) So after one generation, the allele frequencies are: (a) A: 0.7105, a: 0.2895 (b) A: 0.7165, a: 0.2835 (c) A: 0.7202, a: 0.2798 (d) A: 0.6764, a: 0.3236

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Allele Frequency
When we discuss allele frequency, we're talking about how often a particular form of a gene appears within a given population. In genetics, alleles are the different versions of a gene that may exist. Allele frequencies are expressed as a proportion or a percentage of the entire population carrying a specific allele. For example, in a simple case with one gene that has two alleles, A and a, the sum of the frequencies of both alleles (represented as p for the frequency of allele A, and q for the frequency of allele a) always equals 1 in a population. This is stated mathematically as:

\(p + q = 1\)


The significance of understanding allele frequency lies in being able to predict how a population's genetic makeup is likely to change over time, which is a core concept in population genetics. The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium provides a mathematical baseline for evaluating if, and how, actual populations differ from a theoretical, non-evolving population.
Genotype Frequency
Moving from alleles to individuals, genotype frequency is the proportion of a population that carries a specific combination of alleles. Genotypes are often represented using two letters, as each organism has two copies of each gene, one from each parent. In a diploid species, such as humans, common genotypes for a gene with two alleles, A and a, are AA, Aa, and aa. If we have a population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the genotype frequencies can be calculated using the allele frequencies, p and q:

  • The frequency of homozygous for the dominant allele (AA) is \(p^2\).
  • The frequency of heterozygous (Aa) is \(2pq\).
  • The frequency of homozygous for the recessive allele (aa) is \(q^2\).

This model assumes random mating within the population and that allele frequencies remain constant (no mutation, migration, selection, or genetic drift), which is often not the case in natural populations. Nonetheless, it provides a foundational framework for understanding how these frequencies are expected to present in a population that is not subject to evolutionary forces.
Population Genetics
The broader field that ties these concepts together is population genetics, which studies the distribution of and change in allele frequencies under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: mutation, selection, gene flow, and genetic drift. In the exercise provided, selection is the evolutionary process at play — individuals with certain genotypes have a different survival or reproduction rate (fitness), represented by the w values.

In context, the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium acts as a null hypothesis for scientists studying population genetics. When real-world populations deviate from the equilibrium, it prompts investigation into which evolutionary forces are responsible. For students trying to understand these concepts, it helps to consider a non-evolving population as a baseline. Real populations can then be compared to this baseline to understand the action of natural selection, as shown by the varying w-values given in the exercise and how they affect genotype and allele frequencies over one generation.

Population genetics blends the study of Mendelian genetics (inheritance patterns) with Darwinian evolution, and it is critical for understanding how species adapt to their environment — both in the past and in the ongoing dance with changing conditions.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Under what circumstances might a lethal dominant allele persist in a population?

Population geneticists study changes in the nature and amount of genetic variation in populations, the distribution of different genotypes, and how forces such as selection and drift act on genetic variation to bring about evolutionary change in populations and the formation of new species. From the explanation given in the chapter, what answers would you propose to the following fundamental questions? (a) How do we know how much genetic variation is in a population? (b) How do geneticists detect the presence of genetic variation as different alleles in a population? (c) How do we know whether the genetic structure of a population is static or dynamic? (d) How do we know when populations have diverged to the point that they form two different species? (e) How do we know the age of the last common ancestor shared by two species?

Read the Chapter Concepts list on page \(621 .\) All these pertain to the principles of population genetics and the evolution of species. Write a short essay describing the roles of mutation, migration, and selection in bringing about speciation

The use of nucleotide sequence data to measure genetic vari- ability is complicated by the fact that the genes of many eukaryotes are complex in organization and contain \(5^{\prime}\) and \(3^{\prime}\) flanking regions as well as introns. Researchers have compared the nucleotide sequence of two cloned alleles of the \(\gamma\) -globin gene from a single individual and found a variation of 1 percent. Those differences include 13 substitutions of one nucle- otide for another and three short DNA segments that have been inserted in one allele or deleted in the other. None of the changes takes place in the gene's exons (coding regions). Why do you think this is so, and should it change our concept of genetic variation?

Assume that a recessive autosomal disorder occurs in 1 of 10,000 individuals (0.0001) in the general population and that in this population about 2 percent (0.02) of the individuals are carriers for the disorder. Estimate the probability of this disorder occurring in the offspring of a marriage between first cousins. Compare this probability to the population at large.

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