Definition of Term

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

(English) A state in which no evolution occurs; the frequencies of alleles in the gene pool will remain constant unless acted upon by other agents. The existence of the equilibrium relies on several conditions: population size must be very large, the population must be isolated from other populations, individuals and DNA in the population must mate randomly, and the population cannot be subject to natural selection. It provides a baseline for a non-evolving population, any deviance from this equilibrium indicates an evolving population. (See also: allele frequency, gene pool, DNA)

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