21 - Manipulating Genomes Flashcards
What type of people have identical DNA?
Identical twins
What makes up an organism’s genome?
All the genetic material it contains (i.e. in eukaryotes mitochondrial DNA would be included)
What is an exon?
Region of DNA which is expressed and codes for a protein
What is an intron?
Sections of DNA which don’t code for amino acids. Introns are removed during protein synthesis.
What is satellite DNA?
Short DNA sequences which are repeated many times
What is minisatellite DNA?
A region where 20-50 base pairs is repeated 50 to several hundred times
What is another name for minisatellite regions?
Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR)
In what 3 parts of DNA are satellite regions found?
Introns, centromeres, telomeres
What is microsatellite DNA?
A region of 2-4 bases repeated 5-15 times
Is satellite DNA coding or non-coding?
Non-coding
What is another name for microsatellite regions?
Short Tandem Repeats (STR)
Satellite regions always appear in the same position on what?
Chromosomes
What is DNA profiling?
Producing an image of the patterns in the DNA of an individual
What are the 5 main stages of DNA profiling?
- Extracting the DNA 2. Digesting the sample 3. Seperating the DNA fragments 4. Hybridisation 5. Seeing the evidence
Roughly what percentage of human DNA is introns?
98%
What are telomeres?
Regions of DNA at the end of chromosomes which do not code for making proteins, and which shorten each time replication occurs
What are centromeres?
The part of a chromosome that links sister chromatids during mitosis
Why does the number of STRs an individual has vary?
Lengths are inherited
What regions of DNA are examined during DNA profiling?
Satellite DNA
What technique is used to create a larger DNA sample for profiling?
PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
What occurs during the extraction stage of DNA profiling?
DNA is extracted from a tissue sample
What are 2 samples which could be used to provide DNA for profiling?
- Cheek swab 2. Blood sample
What does the cutting in DNA profiling?
Special enzymes called restriction endonucleases
What is the site where a restriction endonuclease cuts a sample called?
Restriction site