A population was surveyed to determine the percentage of individuals with detached earlobes and attached earlobes. 16% of the population was found to have attached earlobes, a trait coded for by a recessive allele. Calculate the allele, genotype and phenotype frequencies of the population, assuming Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is maintained.
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An attached earlobe is the expression of a homozygous recessive genotype. The only time a recessive allele (on an autosome) is expressed is when it occurs in the homozygous state. Therefore, the attached earlobe phenotype is coded for by the genotype, q2, which is 16%. If q2 is 16% (0.16), then q = 0.4. Since p + q = 1, then if q = 0.4, p = 0.6. If we apply these allele frequencies to the Hardy-Weinberg equation, we calculate the genotypes as follows: p2 = 0.36; 2pq = 0.48 and q2 = 0.16. The phenotype frequencies are as follows: Attached earlobes (q2) = 16% of population; Detached earlobes (p2 and 2pq) = 84% of population.
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