What does the Hardy-Weinberg equation predict?
Answers
It predicts change in allelic frequency.
The Hardy-Weinberg principle predicts that allelic frequencies remain constant from one generation to the next, or remain in EQUILIBRIUM, if we assume certain conditions (which we will discuss below).
For example, if the allelic frequencies of alleles A and a in the initial population were p = 0.8 and q = 0.2, the allelic frequencies in the next generation will remain p = 0.8 and q = 0.2. The conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium are rarely (if ever) encountered in nature, but they are fundamental to understanding population genetics. When a population deviates from Hardy-Weinberg predictions, it is evidence that at least one of the conditions in not being met. Scientists can then determine why allelic frequencies are changing, and thus how evolution is acting on the population.
The conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium:
1. Population is infinitely large -– or large enough to minimize the effect of genetic drift, which is change in allele frequencies due entirely to random chance (and not selection).
2. No selection occurs - so all the individuals in the population have an equal chance of surviving and reproducing.
3. Mating is random – so that an individual is equally likely to mate with any potential mate in the population, regardless of genotype or phenotype.
4. No migration - so no alleles enter or leave the population.
5. No mutation - so allelic characteristics do not change