Within a population of butterflies, the color brown (B) is dominant over the color white (b). And, 29% of all butterflies are white.
Calculate the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals.
a
25%
b
22%
c
42%
d
63%
To find the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals (BB), we need to first calculate the frequency of the recessive allele (b). Since 29% of all butterflies are white (bb), the frequency of the recessive allele is √0.29 = 0.54.
Since the color brown (B) is dominant, the frequency of the dominant allele (B) is 1 - 0.54 = 0.46.
To find the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals (BB), we square the frequency of the dominant allele: 0.46^2 = 0.2116.
Therefore, the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals is 21.16%, which is closest to 22%, so the correct answer is b.