Question

The recent paper "A potential role for overdominance in the maintenance of colour variation in the Neotropical tortoise beetle, Chelymorpha alternans" (Strickland et al. 2021, Journal of Evolutionary Biology) finds evidence of overdominance in tortoise beetles based on genotypes at a color-determining single locus. Specifically, alleles R and T at this locus are co-dominant, and RT heterozygotes are bicolored while RR homozygotes are black and TT homozygotes are tan. These color patterns influence mating preferences, and RT heterozygotes produce more surviving offspring than either homozygote.

A population tortoise beetles consists of 583 individuals, of which 207 are black, 71 are tan, and 305 are bicolor. What are the R and T allele frequencies in this population?

Group of answer choices

a. R = 0.299; T = 0.701

b. R = 0.651; T = 0.349

c. R = 0.380; T = 0.620

d. R = 0.617; T = 0.383

e. R = 0.786; T = 0.214

Answer 1

The recent paper "A potential role for overdominance in the maintenance of colour variation in the Neotropical tortoise beetle, Chelymorpha alternans", the R and T allele frequencies in the population of tortoise beetles is d. R = 0.617; T = 0.383.

Step-by-step explanation:

The R and T allele frequencies in the population of tortoise beetles can be calculated using the formula:

p(R) = (2 * black + bicolor) / (2 * total individuals)

p(T) = (2 * tan + bicolor) / (2 * total individuals)

Using the given information, we can plug in the values:

p(R) = (2 * 207 + 305) / (2 * 583) = 719 / 1166 ≈ 0.617

p(T) = (2 * 71 + 305) / (2 * 583) = 447 / 1166 ≈ 0.383

Therefore, the correct answer is d. R = 0.617; T = 0.383.