There are 88 HbAHbA individuals 62 HbAHbT individuals and no

There are 88 Hb^A/Hb^A individuals, 62 Hb^A/Hb^T individuals, and no Hb^T/Hb^T individuals. (Homozygous Hb^T is rare, and codes for sickle cell anemia). Is the segregation of alleles in this population significantly skewed? Justify your answer. Explain why the population might deviate from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium.

Solution

(a) Yes, the segregation of alleles in the population is significantly skewed. We can say this because when we calculate allele frequency (q) for HbA we get:

q2= 88/150 = 0.5867

q= 0.7659

This value indicates that the population is skewed towards HbA genotype.

(b) The population might deviate from the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium because of the process of mortality selection. The allele HbT is selected against in the population and with each generation will decrease in frequency in population. The strong mortality selection which indicates fitness of individual by survival causes this deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.