Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Population genetics baseline
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is the theoretical state in which a population's gene frequencies remain stable across generations.
This baseline assumes no mutation, migration, selection, or genetic drift—conditions never fully met in nature.
Geneticists use it as a null hypothesis: deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions signal that evolutionary forces are acting on a population.
- gene poolSpecies' total genetic diversity
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
- heterozygousHaving unlike gene variants
- diploidTwo complete chromosome sets
- Punnett squareHeredity prediction diagram
selection pressure · allele · null hypothesis · probability · locus · genetic diversity · polymorphism · mating · recessive · breeding · Mendel · chromosomes · dominant · phenotype · fitness · drift · recombination · random
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- population geneticsallele, gene pool, genetic drift, genetic variation, genotype
Hardy-Weinberg equilibriumnatural selection
Differential reproductive success
genetic drift · evolution · gene flow · mutation · migration
Hardy-Weinberg equilibriumdisequilibrium
Lack of balance or stability