Question

If 60% of the alleles of a gene in population is recessive allele. The percentage of heterozygous individual in this population is

• A. 0.16
• B. 0.24
• C. 0.36
• D. 0.48
• E. 0.6

Answer 1

The correct option is D 0.48

Hardy-Weinberg principle is described by the equation p² + 2pq + q² = 1. In the equation, p² represents the frequency of the homozygous genotype AA, q²represents the frequency of the homozygous genotype aa, and 2pq represents the frequency of the heterozygous genotype Aa. Also, the sum of the allele frequencies for all the alleles at the locus must be 1, so p + q = 1.

Therefore if 60% of alleles are recessive, 40% of the alleles would be dominant (p+0.6 = 1, p = 0.4)

The percentage of heterozygous individual is 2pq = 2 x 0.6 x 0.4 = 0.48. Hence, the correct answer is option D.