BIOS-2014 Chapter : 9 19 11
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Assumptions of HWE :
• no selection - alleles are not adaptive
• no mutation - no new alleles via point mutations
• no non-random mating - each individual has an equal chance of
producing offspring with any many of the opposite sex
• no genetic drift - population size is large
• no migration - no new alleles are introduced via the movement of
individuals
Non-Random Mating
Do organisms really mate at random?
Consider humans:
• Location
• Socio-economic status
• Religion
• Race
• Education
• Political beliefs
• Height
• Weight
• Language spoken
• Shared interests - music, arts, sports, etc.
Non-Random Mating
Consider organisms that
reproduce by self fertilization:
Extreme forms of self fertilization
will result in a decrease in the
number of heterozygotes
