3.4.7 Investigating biodiversity

Question 1

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using DNA and mRNA to establish DNA diversity?

Answer 1

+ve
DNA - No transcriptional errors
mRNA - more easily accessible - cytoplasm, rER

-ve
DNA - less accessible - in nucleus
mRNA - transcriptional errors - less accurate

Question 2

How are base sequence of DNA and mRNA used to establish DNA diversity?

Answer 2

The more base difference between individuals, the more distantly related the individuals are

Question 3

Why and how are amino acid sequences used to establish DNA diversity

Answer 3

Amino acid sequence is coded by DNA and mRNA sequences

By comparing amino acid sequences of the same protein in different species, the degree of similarity determines how closely related the species are

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of using amino acid sequences to establish DNA diversity?

Answer 4

Transcriptional errors and degenerate nature of genetic code are not accounted for