Evolution is one of the unifying themes of biology. Evolution involves change in the frequencies of alleles in a population. For a particular genetic locus in a population, the frequency of the recessive allele (a) is 0.4 and the frequency of the dominant allele (A) is 0.6. (b) How can the Hardy-Weinberg principle of genetic equilibrium be used to determine whether this population is evolving?
Evolution is one of the unifying themes of biology. Evolution involves change in the frequencies of alleles in a population. For a particular genetic locus in a population, the frequency of the recessive allele (a) is 0.4 and the frequency of the dominant allele (A) is 0.6. (b) How can the Hardy-Weinberg principle of genetic equilibrium be used to determine whether this population is evolving?
Answer
Answer: Explanation: The Hardy-Weinberg principle provides a baseline expectation for allele and genotype frequencies in a population at genetic equilibrium. By comparing observed allele and genotype frequencies to these expected frequencies, scientists can determine if the population is evolving. Deviations from the expected frequencies suggest evolutionary changes due to factors like selection, mutation, or gene flow.