INTEC

Biotecnología Médica

CD: Carlos Vergara C. Esp. MSc PhD (c)

1. The frequency of two alleles in a gene pool is 0.19 (A) and 0.81(a). Assume that the
population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

(a) Calculate the percentage of heterozygous individuals in the population.

(b) Calculate the percentage of homozygous recessives in the population.

2. An allele W, for white wool, is dominant over allele w, for black wool. In a sample of 900
sheep, 891 are white and 9 are black. Calculate the allelic frequencies within this population,
assuming that the population is in H-W equilibrium.

3. In a population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of the recessive

homozygote genotype of a certain trait is 0.09. Calculate the percentage of individuals
homozygous for the dominant allele.

4. In a population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, 38 % of the individuals are

recessive homozygotes for a certain trait. In a population of 14,500, calculate the percentage
of homozygous dominant individuals and heterozygous individuals.

5. Allele T, for the ability to taste a particular chemical, is dominant over allele t, for the
inability to taste the chemical. Four hundred university students were surveyed and 64 were
found to be nontasters.

Calculate the percentage of heterozygous students. Assume that the population is in H-W
equilibrium.

6. In humans, the Rh factor genetic information is inherited from our parents, but it is
inherited independently of the ABO blood type alleles. In humans, Rh+ individuals have the
Rh antigen on their red blood cells, while Rh− individuals do not. There are two different
alleles for the Rh factor known as Rh+ and rh. Assume that a dominant gene Rh produces
the Rh+ phenotype, and that the recessive rh allele produces the Rh− phenotype.
In a population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, if 160 out of 200 individuals are Rh+,
calculate the frequencies of both alleles.

7. In a certain African population, 4 % of the population is born with sickle cell anemia (aa).
Calculate the percentage of individuals who enjoy the selective advantage of the sickle-cell
gene (increased resistance to malaria)?

8. In the United States, approximately one child in 10,000 is born with PKU
(phenylketonuria), a syndrome that affects individuals homozygous for the recessive allele
(aa).
(a) Calculate the frequency of this allele in the population.
(b) Calculate the frequency of the normal allele.
(c) Calculate the percentage of carriers of the trait within the population.

9. In Caucasian humans, hair straightness or curliness is thought to be governed by a single

pair of alleles showing partial dominance. Individuals with straight hair are homozygous for
the Is allele, while those with curly hair are homozygous for the Ic allele. Individuals with
wavy hair are heterozygous (IsIc).
In a population of 1,000 individuals, 245 were found to have straight hair, 393 had curly hair,
and 362 had wavy hair.

(a) Calculate the allelic frequencies of the Is and Ic alleles.

(b) Is this population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium? Justify your answer. Your explanation
should include a chi-square goodness of fit test.

10. A population of infants from Musoma, Tanzania, was scored for the β-hemoglobin locus
genotype (determined by a single autosomal locus with two alleles, A and S) as follows:

Characterize this population by its genotypic frequencies. Characterize the gene pool by the
allele frequencies for A and S. Using the Hardy–Weinberg law, predict the genotypic
frequencies.

11. Two populations are examined for the same gene locus with the following results:
Population 1: AA 162; Aa 36; aa 2
Population 2: AA 18; Aa 84; aa 98

Now suppose these two populations are combined to form a new population:
Population 3: AA 180; Aa 120; aa 100
a. What system(s) of mating do populations 1 and 2 have for this locus? Are their different
genotype frequencies explained by different systems of mating? If not, why do their genotype
frequencies differ?
b. Is population 3 at Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium? If not, indicate whether heterozygotes are
in excess or in deficiency.