Question

Red foxes have three different types of coat color: red, cross, and black/silver. These coat colors are controlled by a single locus with two alleles, R and S. The alleles are incompletely dominant, which means that a combination of them produces a third phenotype in which both are expressed. Suppose you went to Yellowstone National Park and counted how many foxes you saw of each color-phase. You see 58 red-phase (RR), 32 cross-phase (RS), and 10 black/silver-phase (SS) foxes. Given your data, can you estimate the frequency of the R allele?

74%

Answer 1

74%

Step-by-step explanation:

The frequency in such cases (diallelic cases) is estimated by following formula which is attached in the image:

So as per our question, the frequency of the "R allele" as per data given below will be as under:

58 red-phase (RR)

32 cross-phase (RS)

10 black/silver-phase (SS) foxes

Total plants = 58 + 32 + 10 = 100

f(R) = 58 x 2 + 32/ 2 (58+32+10)

= 116 + 32 / 200

= 148/200

= 0.74 i.e. 74%