A trait in a very large hummingbird population is the presence or absence of a w

Question

A trait in a very large hummingbird population is the presence or absence of a white spot on the belly of the hummingbirds, which is controlled by a single gene with two alleles such that WW individuals have a spot, NN individuals do not have a spot, and "W" is dominant to "N" so WN individuals have a spot and look just like WW individuals for this trait. Presence or absence of the white spot has no impact on survival or reproduction; individuals mate at random with regard to whether or not there is a spot. 3/4 of the individuals in the population have a white spot. What is the frequency of the "N" allele?

Explanation / Answer

Answer: The frequency of allele N = 0.5

Explanation:

Frequency of dominant phenotype, presence of white spot WW & WN) = 3/4 = 0.75

Frequency of recessive phenotype, absence of white spot (NN)= 1/4 = 0.25

Frequency of recessive allele (N) = Sqrt of 0.25 = 0.5

The frequency of allele, N = 0.5

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