Question

Huntington disease is an autosomal dominant disease in which those who are homozygous for the disease gene have a clinical course that is no different from that of heterozygotes. In a population where the frequency of the Huntington gene is 0.08, what is the frequency of those who are homozygous for the gene?

(A) 0.064
(B) 0.016
(C) 0.08
(D) 0.0064

Answer 1

The frequency of individuals in a population who are homozygous for the Huntington gene is found by squaring the gene frequency, which is 0.08. The calculated frequency of homozygous individuals is 0.0064, corresponding to answer option (D).

Step-by-step explanation:

The frequency of individuals in a population who are homozygous for the Huntington gene can be calculated using the Hardy-Weinberg principle. Given the frequency of the Huntington gene (q) is 0.08, the frequency of homozygous individuals for the Huntington gene (q2) can be calculated by squaring the frequency of the gene (q2 = 0.082).

When you calculate 0.08 squared, you get 0.0064. Therefore, the frequency of individuals who are homozygous for the Huntington gene in this population is 0.0064. Thus, the correct answer to the question is ( D ) 0.00646