Problem:
Consider a deleterious recessive allele that is present in two different populations. In population 1, the recessive allele is present at a frequency of 0.1, whereas in population 2, it is present at a frequency of 0.9. Assume that the genotype frequencies in each population are initially in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
Required:
Question 1: What percentage of the deleterious recessive alleles present in population 1 are found in homozygous individuals? Show your calculations, but you do not need to write out any explanation.
Question 2: What percentage of the deleterious recessive alleles present in population 2 are found in homozygous individuals? Show your calculations, but you do not need to write out any explanation.
Question 3: If individuals that are homozygous for the recessive allele have a relative fitness of 0.7 (in other words, WAA = 1; WAa = 1; and Waa = 0.7), calculate the expected change in allele frequency caused by selection after one generation in each of the two populations. Show your work and state which of the populations is expected to experience a higher absolute rate of change in allele frequency [no further explanation required].
Question 4: Briefly describe how your answers in parts 1 and 2 can explain your conclusion for part 3. In other words, how does the current frequency of a recessive allele affect how fast the allele frequency can change in response to selection?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!