A trait in a very large hummingbird population is the presen

A trait in a very large hummingbird population is the presence or absence of a white spot on the belly of the hummingbirds, which is controlled by a single gene with two alleles such that WW individuals have a spot, NN individuals do not have a spot, and \"W\" is dominant to \"N\" so WN individuals have a spot and look just like WW individuals for this trait. Presence or absence of the white spot has no impact on survival or reproduction; individuals mate at random with regard to whether or not there is a spot. 3/4 of the individuals in the population have a white spot. What is the frequency of the \"N\" allele?

Solution

Answer: The frequency of allele N = 0.5

Explanation:

Frequency of dominant phenotype, presence of white spot WW & WN) = 3/4 = 0.75

Frequency of recessive phenotype, absence of white spot (NN)= 1/4 = 0.25

Frequency of recessive allele (N) = Sqrt of 0.25 = 0.5

The frequency of allele, N = 0.5