Why is hardy weinberg equation useful

How can the hardy-weinberg equation be used to model selection? What is an example hardy-weinberg equation practice problem? What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation? What are the assumptions of the Hardy-Weinberg principle? A population of trout lives in a small lake. Some of the trout have a mutation that makes them Although statistical deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations generally indicates violation of the assumptions of the theorem, the converse is not necessarily true.

Some forms of natural selection e. It may also be true that migration or mutation is occurring, but at such low rates as to be undetectable using available statistical methods. And, of course, all real populations are finite and thus susceptible to at least some evolution via genetic drift. The Hardy-Weinberg Theorem demonstrates that Mendelian loci segregating for multiple alleles in diploid populations will retain predictable levels of genetic variation in the absence of forces that change allele frequencies.

A common way of visualizing these expectations is to plot p 2 , 2 pq and q 2 as a function of allele frequencies Figure 4. This graphical presentation emphasizes two important consequences of the Hardy-Weinberg principle:. Crow, J. Eighty years ago: the beginnings of population genetics.

Genetics , Hardy, Weinberg and language impediments. Darwin, C. London , UK: John Murray, Edwards, A. Futuyma, D. Evolutionary Biology , 3rd ed.

Gillespie, J. Population Genetics: A Concise Guide , 2nd ed. Hardy, G. Mendelian proportions in a mixed population. Science 28, Mendel, G. Monaghan, F. On the origins of the Mendelian laws. Journal of Heredity 75, Weinberg, W. Wigginton, J. A note on exact tests of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

The American Journal of Human Genetics 76, The Hardy-Weinberg Principle. Evolution Introduction. Life History Evolution. Mutations Are the Raw Materials of Evolution. Speciation: The Origin of New Species.

Avian Egg Coloration and Visual Ecology. The Ecology of Avian Brood Parasitism. The Maintenance of Species Diversity. Neutral Theory of Species Diversity. Population Genomics. Semelparity and Iteroparity. Geographic Mosaics of Coevolution. Comparative Genomics. Cybertaxonomy and Ecology. To explore the Hardy-Weinberg equation, we can examine a simple genetic locus at which there are two alleles, A and a.

The Hardy-Weinberg equation is expressed as:. In the equation, p 2 represents the frequency of the homozygous genotype AA, q 2 represents the frequency of the homozygous genotype aa, and 2pq represents the frequency of the heterozygous genotype Aa.

If the p and q allele frequencies are known, then the frequencies of the three genotypes may be calculated using the Hardy-Weinberg equation. In population genetics studies, the Hardy-Weinberg equation can be used to measure whether the observed genotype frequencies in a population differ from the frequencies predicted by the equation.

Hardy-Weinberg equation.