A certain form of albinism in humans is recessive and autosomal.Assume that 1% of the individuals in a given population are albino.Assuming that the population is in Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium,what percentage of the individuals in this population is expected to be heterozygous?
A)9%
B)82%
C)99%
D)18%

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation, p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1, where p is the frequency of the dominant allele, q is the frequency of the recessive allele, p^2 is the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals, q^2 is the frequency of homozygous recessive individuals, and 2pq is the frequency of heterozygous individuals.

Given that the frequency of the recessive allele (q) is 0.1 (since 1% of the individuals are albino, and albino is a recessive trait), we can calculate the frequency of the dominant allele (p) as:

p + q = 1 
p = 1 - q 
p = 1 - 0.1 
p = 0.9

Now, we can use the equation to calculate the frequency of heterozygous individuals as:

2pq = 2(0.9)(0.1) = 0.18 = 18%

Therefore, the expected percentage of heterozygous individuals in the population is 18%, which corresponds to answer choice D.

A Certain Form of Albinism in Humans Is Recessive and Autosomal.Assume