If the initial allele frequencies are p = 0.5 and q = 0.5and the a allele is a l
ID: 72674 • Letter: I
Question
If the initial allele frequencies are p = 0.5 and q = 0.5and the a allele is a lethal recessive, what will be the frequency of the a allele in the future? Use the following equation:
qn=q01+nq0
where qn = the new gene frequency, q0 = the initial gene frequency, and n = the number of generations.
1. What will be the frequency of the a allele after 1 generation?
2. What will be the frequency of the a allele after 5 generations?
3. What will be the frequency of the a allele after 10 generations?
4. What will be the frequency of the a allele after 25 generations?
5. What will be the frequency of the a allele after 100 generations?
6. What will be the frequency of the a allele after 1000 generations?
Explanation / Answer
If the initial allele frequencies are p = 0.5 and q = 0.5and the a allele is a lethal recessive.
Using the following above given equation:
qn=q01+nq0
where qn = the new gene frequency, q0 = the initial gene frequency, and n = the number of generations.
1. The frequency of the a allele after 1 generation => qn=q01+nq0
q(1) = 0.5 +1 X0.5 = 1
2. The frequency of the a allele after 5 generations => qn= q01+nq0
q(5) = 0.5 +5 X0.5 = 3
3. The frequency of the a allele after 10 generations => qn= q01+nq0
q(10) = 0.5 + 10 X0.5 = 5.5
4. The frequency of the a allele after 25 generations => qn= q01+nq0
q(25) = 0.5 + 25 X0.5 = 13
5. The frequency of the a allele after 100 generations => qn= q01+nq0
q(100) = 0.5 +100 X0.5 = 50.5
6. The frequency of the a allele after 1000 generations => qn= q01+nq0
q(1000) = 0.5 + 1000 X0.5 = 500.5