Question

An autosomal recessive gene is lethal in homozygotes. In a population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, how many generations will it take to eliminate the gene from the population

(A) 1
(B) 25
(C) 100
(D) It will not be eliminated from the population.

Answer 1

In a population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, an autosomal recessive lethal gene will not be eliminated because carriers can still pass the gene to offspring, and allele frequencies remain constant.

Step-by-step explanation:

When it comes to an autosomal recessive lethal gene in a population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the gene will not be eliminated from the population. This is because carriers of the allele (heterozygotes) can survive and continue to pass the gene onto their offspring. According to the Hardy-Weinberg principle, which describes a model where allele frequencies in a large, randomly-mating population remain constant, lethal recessive genes can persist in the population carried by heterozygous individuals who do not express the lethal phenotype.