In a hypothetical population of sawflies,20 percent of the population is homozygous for allele A and 45 percent is homozygous for allele a.Assuming that A and a are the only alleles at this locus,what percent of the population is heterozygous?
A) 10 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 35 percent
D) 45 percent
E) 65 percent

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If 20% of the population is homozygous for allele A, then the frequency of A in the population is 0.2 (since there are only two possible alleles, the frequency of A and a must add up to 1). Similarly, if 45% of the population is homozygous for allele a, then the frequency of a is 0.45. To find the frequency of heterozygotes, we can use the equation 2pq, where p and q are the frequencies of the two alleles. So, the frequency of heterozygotes in this population would be 2(0.2)(0.45) = 0.18, or 18%. Therefore, the answer is C) 35 percent, which is the closest option to 18%.

In a Hypothetical Population of Sawflies,20 Percent of the Population