1. What is Allelic Frequency?

Allelic frequency (or gene frequency) is the relative frequency of an allele (variant of a gene) at a particular locus in a population, expressed as a fraction or percentage. It's a fundamental concept in population genetics.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the allelic frequency equation:

Where:

• \( number\_of\_allele \) — Count of the specific allele in the population
• \( number\_of\_individuals \) — Number of individuals in the population

Explanation: The equation calculates the proportion of a specific allele in a population relative to all possible alleles at that locus. Each individual carries two alleles for each gene (except sex chromosomes in males).

3. Importance of Allelic Frequency

Details: Allelic frequency is crucial for understanding genetic diversity, studying evolutionary processes, predicting disease risk in populations, and conservation genetics.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the count of the specific allele and the number of individuals in the population. The number of individuals must be at least 1.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the range of possible allelic frequencies?
A: Allelic frequencies range from 0 (allele not present) to 1 (fixed allele, present in all individuals).

Q2: How is this different from genotype frequency?
A: Genotype frequency refers to the proportion of individuals with a specific genotype, while allelic frequency refers to how common an allele is in the population.

Q3: What is the Hardy-Weinberg principle?
A: It states that allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to generation in the absence of evolutionary influences.

Q4: When would allelic frequency change?
A: Allelic frequencies can change due to natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, or non-random mating.

Q5: How large should my sample be?
A: Larger samples provide more accurate estimates of true population frequencies, especially for rare alleles.