The incidence of Tay Sachs, an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, is approximately 1 in 3,500 in a certain population of Ashkenazi Jews. Assuming Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium, what is the frequency of carriers for the Tay Sachs allele in this population?
A) 3.3%
B) 98.5%
C) 1.5%
D) 2.9%
E) 1.7%

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The frequency of carriers for the Tay Sachs allele in a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can be calculated using the formula:q^2 = frequency of recessive homozygotesp^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1where p is the frequency of the dominant allele and q is the frequency of the recessive allele.In this case, the incidence of Tay Sachs is 1 in 3,500, which means that q^2 = 1/3,500 = 0.000286.Therefore, q = 0.017 and p = 1 - q = 0.983.The frequency of carriers is 2pq = 2 * 0.017 * 0.983 = 0.0333, or 3.3%.

The Incidence of Tay Sachs, an Autosomal Recessive Genetic Disorder