Question

What Is p and q in genetics?

Answer 1

Frequency of alleles:

1. In population genetics, if 'A' and ‘a’ are the two alleles of a gene then p and q will represent the frequency of 'A' and 'a' allele respectively.
2. The Hardy-Weinberg equation is: $p^2+q^2+2pq=1$
3. In the equation, $p^2$ is the frequency of the dominant individual, $q^2$ is the frequency of the recessive individual and $2pq$ is the frequency of the heterozygote individual.
4. Also, $p+q=1$ where p is the frequency of the dominant allele and q is the frequency of the recessive allele.