A biologist measures the allele frequencies of pea plants in a very controlled environment. The plants can either have a dominan
t tall allele (T) or a recessive short allele (t). Which of the following is a reason that this population is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium? A. The pea plants are mated at random.
B. Both alleles ensure equal survival.
C. One pea plant mutates to have a new allele.
D. Every pea plant reproduces exactly once.
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium refers to the equilibrium of the gene frequencies in a population from generation to generation in the absence of evolutionary influences.
The Hardy-Weinberg assumptions for this equilibrium are:
Random mating
No mutation
No natural selection
No emigration and immigration
Large population size
Thus, the formation of a new allele by mutation would disturb the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
