ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY LEARNING MODULE

SAN AGUSTIN CAMPUS

College of Education BSED FISHERY

TOPIC: Principles of Quantitative and Qualitative

Genetics

INTRODUCTION:

This module deals about the basic concepts about the principles of quantitative and qualitative
genetics. As you read this material you will learn about Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium and its
application in the field of genetics. After the content discussion, you will be given some
assignments or assessment regarding the topic discussed. This assessment will deepen and
strengthen understanding. Do the task honestly coupled with high interest so that you can benefit
the most of it.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Understand and apply the basic concepts gained about the Principles of quantitative and
qualitative genetics in addressing problems and opportunities in aquaculture management.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Define qualitative and quantitative traits in genetics.

2. Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative traits that determine selective
breeding resource in aquaculture.
3. Discuss Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium.

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 ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY LEARNING MODULE
SAN AGUSTIN CAMPUS

College of Education BSED FISHERY

CONTENT EXPLORATION

The Difference Between Qualitative & Quantitative Traits in Genetics

In genetics, you can divide all traits into two categories based on their effects on an organism's
phenotype: qualitative and quantitative. Every single genetic trait an organism has fits neatly into
one of these two categories. Additionally, if you know that a trait is qualitative or quantitative,
you can discern several things about the genes that control these traits.

Qualitative Traits

A qualitative trait is a trait that fits into discrete categories. This means that you can neatly
categorize a trait. For example, if a species of plant had either red leaves or yellow leaves, and
nothing in between, this would be a discrete trait. "Yes or no" traits, traits where an organism
either has the trait or doesn't, also fit into this category. Usually, a single gene or small group of
genes control qualitative traits.

Quantitative Traits

Quantitative traits occur as a continuous range of variation. This means that these traits occur
over a range. To picture this, imagine the length of a lizard's tail. The length can vary, and does
not fit into natural categories. Generally, a larger group of genes control qualitative traits. When
multiple genes influence a trait, you can also describe it as a "polygenic trait."

Examples of Qualitative Traits

This concept may make more sense with examples. Some examples of qualitative traits include
round/wrinkled skin in pea pods, albinism and humans' ABO blood groups. The ABO human
blood groups illustrate this concept well. Except for some rare special cases, the humans can
only fit into one of four categories for the ABO part of their blood type: A, B, AB or O. Since the
ABO part of your bloodtype fits neatly into four categories, it is a qualitative trait. You can often
represent qualitative traits with a number.

Examples of Quantitative Traits

Similarly, examples can help people assimilate the idea of quantitative traits. These traits include
height, intelligence and skin color. In some organisms, disease resistance is a quantitative trait.
Human height illustrates the concept well. Height can occur across a range. While you can say
that someone is "short" or "tall," these are arbitrary values, not innate categories. Instead, the
most accurate way to measure height is with a numerical value, making it a quantitative trait.

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 ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY LEARNING MODULE
SAN AGUSTIN CAMPUS

College of Education BSED FISHERY

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is a principle stating that the genetic variation in a population
will remain constant from one generation to the next in the absence of disturbing factors. When

mating is random in a large population with no disruptive circumstances, the law predicts that
both genotype and allele frequencies will remain constant because they are in equilibrium.

The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can be disturbed by a number of forces, including mutations,

natural selection, nonrandom mating, genetic drift, and gene flow. For instance, mutations
disrupt the equilibrium of allele frequencies by introducing new alleles into a population.
Similarly, natural selection and nonrandom mating disrupt the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
because they result in changes in gene frequencies. This occurs because certain alleles help or
harm the reproductive success of the organisms that carry them. Another factor that can upset
this equilibrium is genetic drift, which occurs when allele frequencies grow higher or lower by
chance and typically takes place in small populations. Gene flow, which occurs when breeding
between two populations transfers new alleles into a population, can also alter the Hardy-
Weinberg equilibrium.

Because all of these disruptive forces commonly occur in nature, the Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium rarely applies in reality. Therefore, the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium describes an
idealized state, and genetic variations in nature can be measured as changes from this
equilibrium state.

Hardy-Weinberg Principle of Equilibrium

The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that a population’s allele and genotype frequencies will
remain constant in the absence of evolutionary mechanisms. Ultimately, the Hardy-Weinberg
principle models a population without evolution under the following conditions:

1. no mutations

2. no immigration/emigration

3. no natural selection

4. no sexual selection

5. a large population

Although no real-world population can satisfy all of these conditions, the principle still offers a
useful model for population analysis.

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 ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY LEARNING MODULE
SAN AGUSTIN CAMPUS

College of Education BSED FISHERY

Hardy-Weinberg Equations and Analysis

According to the Hardy-Weinberg principle, the variable p often represents the frequency of a

particular allele, usually a dominant one. For example, assume that p represents the frequency of
the dominant allele, Y, for yellow pea pods. The variable q represents the frequency of the

recessive allele, y, for green pea pods. If p and q are the only two possible alleles for this
characteristic, then the sum of the frequencies must add up to 1, or 100 percent. We can also

write this as p + q = 1.If the frequency of the Y allele in the population is 0.6, then we know that
the frequency of the y allele is 0.4.

From the Hardy-Weinberg principle and the known allele frequencies, we can also infer the
frequencies of the genotypes. Since each individual carries two alleles per gene (Y or y), we can
predict the frequencies of these genotypes with a chi square. If two alleles are drawn at random
from the gene pool, we can determine the probability of each genotype.

In the example, our three genotype possibilities are: pp (YY), producing yellow peas; pq (Yy),
also yellow; or qq (yy), producing green peas. The frequency of homozygous pp individuals is
p2; the frequency of hereozygous pq individuals is 2pq; and the frequency of homozygous qq
individuals is q2. If p and q are the only two possible alleles for a given trait in the population,
these genotypes frequencies will sum to one: p2 + 2pq + q2 = 1.

Figure 19.1C.119.1C.1: Hardy-Weinberg proportions for two alleles: The horizontal axis

shows the two allele frequencies p and q and the vertical axis shows the expected genotype
frequencies.Each line shows one of the three possible genotypes.

In our example, the possible genotypes are homozygous dominant (YY), heterozygous (Yy), and
homozygous recessive (yy). If we can only observe the phenotypes in the population, then we
know only the recessive phenotype (yy). For example, in a garden of 100 pea plants, 86 might
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 ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY LEARNING MODULE
SAN AGUSTIN CAMPUS

College of Education BSED FISHERY

have yellow peas and 16 have green peas. We do not know how many are homozygous dominant
(Yy) or heterozygous (Yy), but we do know that 16 of them are homozygous recessive (yy).

Therefore, by knowing the recessive phenotype and, thereby, the frequency of that genotype (16
out of 100 individuals or 0.16), we can calculate the number of other genotypes. If q2 represents
the frequency of homozygous recessive plants, then q2 = 0.16. Therefore, q = 0.4.Because p + q
= 1, then 1 – 0.4 = p, and we know that p = 0.6. The frequency of homozygous dominant plants

(p2) is (0.6)2 = 0.36. Out of 100 individuals, there are 36 homozygous dominant (YY) plants. The
frequency of heterozygous plants (2pq) is 2(0.6)(0.4) = 0.48. Therefore, 48 out of 100 plants are
heterozygous yellow (Yy).

Figure 19.1C.119.1C.1: The Hardy-Weinberg Principle: When populations are in the Hardy-

Weinberg equilibrium, the allelic frequency is stable from generation to generation and the
distribution of alleles can be determined. If the allelic frequency measured in the field differs
from the predicted value, scientists can make inferences about what evolutionary forces are at
play.

Applications of Hardy-Weinberg

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 ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY LEARNING MODULE
SAN AGUSTIN CAMPUS

College of Education BSED FISHERY

The genetic variation of natural populations is constantly changing from genetic drift, mutation,
migration, and natural and sexual selection. The Hardy-Weinberg principle gives scientists a
mathematical baseline of a non-evolving population to which they can compare evolving
populations. If scientists record allele frequencies over time and then calculate the expected
frequencies based on Hardy-Weinberg values, the scientists can hypothesize the mechanisms
driving the population’s evolution.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

__________________________________________________________

Direction: Answer the following comprehensively. Write your answer

on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative traits. (10)pts.

2. Discuss Hardy – Weinberg equilibrium . (15 ) Pts.
3. Cite some application of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. (15) Pts.

__________________________________________________________________

References:

 Baras,E.,C.Prignon,Gohoungo,G.and Melard, C., 2000.Phenotypic sex

differentiations of blue tilapia under constant and fluctuating thermal
regimes and its adaptive and evolutionary implications. J. Fish Biol.
57:210-223.
 Baroiller,J.F.,Guiguen,Y. and Fostier , A.,1999. Endocrine and
environmental aspects of sex
 differentiation in fish.Cellular and molecular Life Sci.,55:910-931.
 Battacharya s.,Dasgupta,S, Datta,M ,and Basu, D, 2002 Biotechnology input
in fish breeding
 .Indian journal of biotechnology,1:29-38.
 Billington N, and Hebert, P.D. N, 1991.Mitochondrial DNA diversity
in fishes.

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