You are studying a snake species, and find that there are two color morphs (grey

Question

You are studying a snake species, and find that there are two color morphs (grey and white). Skin color is determined by a single locus (the w allele codes for white skin and is recessive to the G allele). You find that in a population of primarily grey snakes, the frequency of the w allele is q = 0.15. In a nearby population of mainly white snakes, the frequency of the w allele is 0.49. You know that the migration rate among populations is 5x10-3. What is the selection coefficient that quantifies the reduction in fitness of the ww genotype in the primarily grey population?

Explanation / Answer

Selection coefficient under migration-selection balance:

s = m(q*-q)/q2

given, q = 0.15 , q2 = 0.0225, q* = 0.49 and mutation rate,m = 5 * 10^-3

therefore, s = 5 * 10-3(0.49 - 0.15)/0.0225 =  5 * 10-3(0.34)/0.0225 = 5 * 10-3 * 15.11 = 75.55 * 10-3 = 0.075

hence, selection coefficient, s = 0.075

selection coefficient is used to calculate the rate of change of gene frequencies from one generation to other within a population.

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