21.3 Using DNA sequencing

Question 1

what is bioinformatics?

Answer 1

development of software and computing tools used to analayse raw biological data

use of algorithms to deal with large amounts of data

Question 2

what is computational biology?

Answer 2

study of biology using computational techniques such as analysing large amounts of biodata

Question 3

how is computational biology used to make 3D structures?

Answer 3

it uses data from bioinformatics to form 3D structures of proteins

Question 4

why is computational biology useful?

Answer 4

allows us to identify genes linked to specific diseases im populations
allows us to see the evolutionary lonks between organisms

Question 5

what us genomics?

Answer 5

the use of DNA sequencing and computational biology to analyse the structure of genomes

Question 6

how are computers used to analyse the human genome?

Answer 6

they are used to analyse and compare genomes of individuals and reveal patterns in DNA a diseases we inherit

Question 7

what genome-wide comparisons are made?

Answer 7

analysing the human genome
analysing the genomes of pathogens
identifying species
identifying evolutionary relationships

Question 8

what does the sequencing of genomes allow for?

Answer 8

• doctors to find the source of infections
• doctors to find the the antibiotic-resistant strands of bacteria
• scientists to track the progress of an outbreak
• scientists to identify regions of the genome of pathogens to use as targets for new drugs and medicines

Question 9

what is DNA barcoding?

Answer 9

identifying differences between particular sections if the genome that are common to all species

Question 10

what section of the genome is used for identifying animals?

Answer 10

a section of mitochondrial DNA which codes for an enzyme used in respiration

Question 11

what section of the genome is used for identifying plants?

Answer 11

regions in the DNA of chloroplasts

Question 12

why is the barcode system flawed?

Answer 12

fungi and bacteria cannot be identified

Question 13

how is DNA sequencing used to identify evolutionary links?

Answer 13

the differences in DNA sequences can be compared between organisms

Question 14

how can the time of divergence in a species be calculated?

Answer 14

by finding the basic mutation rate of DNA

allows scientists to find out how long ago a species diverged from a common ancestor

Question 15

what is proteomics?

Answer 15

the study and amino acid sequencing of an organism’s entire protein complement

Question 16

why is DNA sequencing flawed for identifying the amino acid sequence?

Answer 16

many amino acids code for the same protein
some genes can code for many proteins

Question 17

why do spliceosomes lead to the production of many proteins?

Answer 17

the pre mRNA has it’s exons removed
spliceosomes are then used to join together the exon strands removed
these exon strands can be joined together in any order
therefore many variants of the same gene can be produced
therefore different arrangements of amino acids

Question 18

what are the reasons why the relationship between the genotype and phenotype is complex?

Answer 18

spliceosomes
protein modification

Question 19

why does protein modification lead to different proteins?

Answer 19

many proteins are modified by other proteins
they can be shortened or lengthened
means a variety of proteins are produced
so different sequences of amino acids

Question 20

what is synthetic biology?

Answer 20

the design and construction of artificial biological pathways, organisms and devices

Question 21

what are the examples of synthetic biology techniques?

Answer 21

• genetic engineering
• use of biological instruments in industry
• synthesis of new genes to replace faulty genes
• synthesis of new organisms

Question 22

what does genetic engineering entail?

Answer 22

either a single change in the biological pathway of an organism
or
a major genetic modification of an entire organism

Question 23

how are biological systems used in industry?

Answer 23

the use of immobilised enzymes
producing drugs from microorganisms

Question 24

what is pyrosequencing?

Answer 24

increases rate of DNA sequencing