In a population of pea plants that can have red RR pink RW

. In a population of pea plants that can have red (RR), pink (RW), or white (WW) flowers, the frequency of the red allele is 0.22. Is this population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium? Here is a census of plant flower colors: red = .05, pink = 0.35, and white = 0.6.

Solution

According to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, if the alleles in a population are designated as p and q, then the mathematical equation which describes the relation is:

p² + q² + 2pq = 1

According to the question, the allele frequencies are:

Red or p² = 0.05

Pink or 2pq = 0.35

White or q² = 0.6

If the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, all these allele frequency should add up to unity.

This gives, 0.05 + 0.35 + 0.6 = 1.

Since the population\'s allele frequencies sum up to 1, the population is indeed in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.