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Consider a gene locus in a diploid population with two possible alleles, A and a. Let p and q represent the frequency of the A and a alleles in the population, respectively. As there are only two possible alleles, p and q, we know that p + q = 1. The three genotypes possible are AA, Aa, and aa. The Hardy-Weinberg Law states that after one generation of random mating, the frequencies of the three genotypes in the population are given by: fAA = p2, fAa = 2pq, faa = q2. An individual has genotype AA if both parents contribute an A allele. Likewise, if both parents contribute an a allele then the individual has genotype aa. This can happen one way, and the probability that an individual is homozygous for allele A is the frequency of the A allele in the population squared, and the probability that an individual is homozygous for allele a is the frequency of the a allele in the population squared. An individual has genotype Aa if either an A allele is inherited maternally and an a allele is inherited paternally, or if an a allele is inherited maternally and an A allele is inherited paternally. The probability of having an A and a allele is pq (the product of their frequencies in the population), and since a heterozygous genotype can arise two different ways, the frequency of genotype Aa is 2pq. Notice that because p+q = 1, we also know that (p+q)2 = p2 +2pq +q2 = 1.
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The Biology Project > Biomath > Quadratic Functions > Applications > Population Genetics
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May 2006
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