How to Calculate the Frequency of Cystic Fibrosis Allele in the US Population

What is the frequency of the cystic fibrosis allele among the US population?

Given data: The frequency of cystic fibrosis in the US population is 1 in 3500 individuals (f=0.0003).

Answer:

The frequency of the cystic fibrosis allele in the US population can be calculated using the Hardy-Weinberg equation.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that affects the US population at a frequency of 1 in 3500 individuals, which is equivalent to 0.0003. This means that the frequency of individuals with cystic fibrosis is 0.03% in the US population.

To calculate the frequency of the cystic fibrosis allele, we can use the Hardy-Weinberg equation: p² + 2pq + q² = 1, where p represents the frequency of the dominant allele (normal allele) and q represents the frequency of the recessive allele (cystic fibrosis allele).

In this case, the given frequency of individuals with cystic fibrosis (0.0003) represents the recessive allele frequency (q). By substituting q into the equation, we can calculate the frequency of the cystic fibrosis allele in the US population.