If the initial allele frequencies are p = 0.5 and q = 0.5 and allele a is a lethal recessive, what will be the frequencies after 1, 5, 10, 25, 100, and 1000 generations?

Key Concepts

Allele Frequencies

Allele frequencies represent the proportion of different alleles of a gene in a population. In this case, p and q denote the frequencies of two alleles, where p is the frequency of the dominant allele and q is the frequency of the recessive allele. Understanding how these frequencies change over generations is crucial for predicting genetic variation and evolutionary dynamics.

Lethal Recessive Alleles

A lethal recessive allele is one that can cause the death of an organism when present in a homozygous state (aa). In this scenario, the presence of allele 'a' will lead to the death of individuals carrying two copies of it, thereby affecting the allele frequencies over generations. This concept is essential for understanding how certain alleles can be eliminated from a population.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

The Hardy-Weinberg principle provides a mathematical framework for understanding allele frequencies in a population under ideal conditions. It states that allele and genotype frequencies will remain constant from generation to generation in the absence of evolutionary influences. However, the introduction of a lethal recessive allele disrupts this equilibrium, necessitating calculations to determine how frequencies change over time.