1. The Human Genome and Normal Variation (1) Flashcards
What were the first cells?
Prokaryotes
What are the features of prokaryotes?
All living organisms have a genome. What is a genome?
The complete set of genetic information present in an organism or cell.
Genomes contain a number of defined genetic units called genes. What are genes?
A DNA sequence that codes for a functionally
relevant molecule.
Mechanisms by which prokaryotic genomes increase in size over evolutionary time: (5)
- Gene duplication
- Whole genome duplication (polyploidisation)
- Transduction
- Insertion of new genetic material
- Gene duplication, followed by mutation, creates
new genes
- Size of prokaryotic genomes is directly related to
their _______ _______. - the more genes, the more proteins and enzymes they
make
metabolic capabilities
True or false:
Genomes can also reduce in size – organisms
lose genes that they no longer need/use
True
- The human genome arose at a series of stages in _____
- 37% of human genes originated in ______
evolution
bacteria
Steps of genome evolution: (6)
- Small strands of nucleic acids (RNA and then DNA) floated about in the primordial soup
- The first life forms on earth were prokaryotic cells
- Single cells arose, in which DNA was protected by a cell membrane
- DNA amount expanded through various mechanisms
- Single cells worked together to form multicellular organisms
- Humans are currently at the end of that chain of evolution and thus our genome is a modified version of DNA sequences already observed in other organisms
- As genome size increased, it became impossible for a cell to maintain its DNA complement as a single, _______ thread
- Larger genomes are broken up into more manageable bits: chromosomes
continuous
The human genome comprises 25 distinct molecules:
Nuclear genome:
* 22 _______
* 2 ____ chromosomes
* Diploid (2n)
autosomes
sex
- Mitochondrial genome
- One complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome (although there are up to _____ mitochondria per cell!
2000
What is the size of the human genome? (4)
- If you stretched out all the DNA in a single human
cell, it would be about 2 meters long - 3 088 286 401 nucleotides in length
(3.1 billion bases of DNA per haploid genome) - The longest chromosome was designated ‘1’ and so
on.. - The shortest human chromosome is chr 21
How many genes do humans have? (5)
- Humans have about 20 000 genes
- (estimate is 19,969 protein-coding genes; Aganezov et al., 2021)
- Some genes are transcribed in numerous different ways. Thus one gene = many different functional molecules (alternative splicing)
- Some gene transcripts are joined together
- Small genes next door to each other can combine to form a larger gene
Gene distribution in the genome:
* Random!
* Gene deserts: regions >_____ kb with no ORF -
about 20% genome
* Gene islands: ____-_____ regions
* Some chromosomes carry more genes than
others
500kb
gene-rich
Does size of genome correlate with complexity? (2)
- Genome size is positively correlated with complexity among prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes
- However, after mollusks and all the other higher eukaryotes above, this correlation is no longer effective
Most of the genes that are unique to vertebrates are concerned with the _______ or nervous systems and have transmembrane or_____ functions.
immune
extracellular
What proportion of the human genome is coding? (3)
- Only ~ 1.5% is protein coding (exons)
- Genes (introns plus exons) occupy only about 25% of the human genome
- > 50% of the human genome consists of repetitive DN
How do we study human genetics? (3)
Cytogenetics:
- Karyotyping
Molecular Cytogenetics: (3)
- FISH
- Microarray
- Gene Panels
- Next Generation Sequencing
Molecular: (2)
- Sanger Sequencing
- PCR
The human genome can be investigated at different levels. You would choose a laboratory technique appropriate to the ______ and _____ of the mutation you are looking for.
type
size
Summary:
* All life is connected by DNA
* The total amount of DNA an organism possesses (its genome) is no indication of how _______ the organism is
* The number of genes an organism ______ is no indication of how complex the organism is
* The human genome shares much of its ______ with less complex organisms
* Human genetics is studied at different levels. Each level of study is characterized by the information it can provide. Different lab techniques need to be utilized
depending on level of ________.
complex
sequence
interrogation
- > 10 million species on Earth
- Most living organisms are _____ cells
– Single cells can multiply quickly - In both unicellular and multicellular organisms, the single cell is the vehicle for the _______ information of that species
single
hereditary
All cellular organisms have double-stranded DNA genomes:
- The ________ information in ALL living cells is stored in the linear chemical deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA)
- DNA performs the same basic functions across all species
heriditary
What does the genome comprise of?
- The genome comprises all the genetic material that an
organism possesses
What is the main function of genetic material?
The main function of genetic material is to store
information required to produce an organism
– Reproduction
– RNA/protein synthesis
In unicellular organisms, it is typically a single
_____ chromosome.
circular
What is the genome?
The genome is the complete set of sequences in
the genetic material of an organism. It includes the sequence of each chromosome plus any DNA in organelles.