1. 3 out of 2400 babies that were born at a maternity hospital died shortly after birth from colonic obstruction due to a recessive allele. Determine the frequency of the lethal allele in the population, expressed as a percent.
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six out of 2400 babies that were born at a maternity hospital died shortly after birth from colonic obstruction due to recessive allele.
A) Determine the frequency of the lethal allele in the population, express as a percent
B) What percent of the population would you expect to be carriers of the lethal allele?
Answer:Remember the basic formulas:
p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1 and p + q = 1
p = frequency of the dominant allele in the population
q = frequency of the recessive allele in the population
p^2 = percentage of homozygous dominant individuals
q^2 = percentage of homozygous recessive individuals
2pq = percentage of heterozygous individuals
We are given 6/2400 as the percentage of homozygous recessive individuals:
q^2 = 6/2400 = 0.0025
Using algebra, we can find q, the frequency of the recessive allele, which is lethal if homozygous.
q = sqrt(0.0025) = 0.05 = 5%
So 5 percent of the population is a heterozygous carrier of the lethal allele.
2. 9 out of 2400 babies that were born at a maternity hospital died shortly after birth from colonic obstruction due to a recessive allele. What percent of the population would you expect to be carriers of the lethal allele?
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Population genetics and recessive alleles
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