What Is the Frequency of the PKU Allele in European Populations?

[t_n_p]

Homework Statement

The frequency of PKU in european populations is about 1/10000. What is the frequency of the allele for PKU?

The attempt at a solution

I know PKU is an autosomal recessive disorder so does that mean q^2=1/10000? I'm not quite sure where to go from here

 

[t_n_p]

It's ok figured it out. :D

 

[Blueshift5]

I would like to clarify that the Hardy-Weinberg theory is a mathematical model that describes the relationship between allele frequencies and genotype frequencies in a population. It is not specific to any particular gene or disorder. However, it can be applied to the frequency of the PKU allele in a population.

To answer the question, we can use the Hardy-Weinberg equation: p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1, where p and q represent the frequencies of the two alleles for a particular gene (in this case, the PKU allele).

Since PKU is an autosomal recessive disorder, we know that q^2 represents the frequency of individuals with the disorder (1/10000 in this case). Therefore, we can solve for q by taking the square root of both sides of the equation: q = √(1/10000) = 1/100.

To find the frequency of the PKU allele, we can use the equation p + q = 1 and substitute the value of q that we just found: p + 1/100 = 1. Solving for p, we get p = 99/100.

Therefore, the frequency of the PKU allele in this European population would be 99/100 or 0.99.

It is important to note that the Hardy-Weinberg equation assumes certain conditions, such as a large population size, random mating, no natural selection, and no gene flow. In reality, these conditions may not always be met, and therefore the actual allele frequency may differ from the predicted value.