18.2 The Hardy–Weinberg Law Describes the Effect of Reproduction on Genotypic and Allelic Frequencies

The primary goal of population genetics is to understand the processes that shape a population’s gene pool. First, we must ask what effects reproduction and Mendelian principles have on the genotypic and allelic frequencies: How do the segregation of alleles in gamete formation and the combining of alleles in fertilization influence the gene pool? The answer to this question lies in the Hardy–Weinberg law, among the most important principles of population genetics.

The Hardy–Weinberg law was formulated independently by Godfrey H. Hardy and Wilhelm Weinberg in 1908 (similar conclusions were reached by several other geneticists at about the same time). The law is actually a mathematical model that evaluates the effect of reproduction on the genotypic and allelic frequencies of a population. It makes several simplifying assumptions about the population and provides two key predictions if these assumptions are met. For an autosomal locus with two alleles, the Hardy–Weinberg law can be stated as follows:

Assumptions If a population is large, randomly mating, and not affected by mutation, migration, or natural selection, then

Prediction 1 the allelic frequencies of a population do not change; and

Prediction 2 the genotypic frequencies stabilize (will not change) after one generation in the proportions p2 (the frequency of AA), 2pq (the frequency of Aa), and q2 (the frequency of aa), where p equals the frequency of allele A and q equals the frequency of allele a.

The Hardy–Weinberg law indicates that when its assumptions are met, reproduction alone does not alter allelic or genotypic frequencies, and the allelic frequencies determine the frequencies of genotypes.

The statement that the genotypic frequencies stabilize after one generation means that they may change in the first generation after random mating because one generation of random mating is required to produce Hardy–Weinberg proportions of the genotypes. Afterward, the genotypic frequencies, like the allelic frequencies, do not change as long as the population continues to meet the assumptions of the Hardy–Weinberg law. When genotypes are in the expected proportions of p2, 2pq, and q2, the population is said to be in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.

CONCEPTS

The Hardy–Weinberg law describes how reproduction and Mendelian principles affect the allelic and genotypic frequencies of a population.

image CONCEPT CHECK 1

Which statement is not an assumption of the Hardy–Weinberg law?

  1. The allelic frequencies (p and q) are equal.

  2. The population is randomly mating.

  3. The population is large.

  4. Natural selection has no effect.

a