3.8.3 Using genome projects (Unit 8 Gene Expression)

Question 1

Why might the ability to determine the genome of simple organisms be useful to medical scientists?

Answer 1

Could be used to identify antigens for use in vaccine production.

Question 2

Why is determining the genome of more complex organisms not easily translated into proteome?

Answer 2

Most of the DNA consists of introns.

Question 3

What is a genome?

Answer 3

all of the genetic material in an organism.

Question 4

How long did it take to map all 3 billion base pairs organised into 20,000 genes achieved in 2003?

Answer 4

13 years

Question 5

what is bioinformatics?

Answer 5

the science of collecting and analysing complex biological data such as genetic codes.

Question 6

How is all of the information stores in bioinformatics?

Answer 6

computers

Question 7

How is the data analysed in bioinformatics?

Answer 7

algorithms (mathematical formulae)

Question 8

What is WGS short for?

Answer 8

whole genome shotgun

Question 9

What happens in WGS?

Answer 9

the DNA is cut in small sections, use computer algorithms to align overlapping segments to assemble the entire genome. this is rapid and continually updated.

Question 10

What does SNP stand for?

Answer 10

single nucleotide polymorphisms

Question 11

What are SNP’s?

Answer 11

single base variations in the human genome which are associated with disease and disorders.

Question 12

What is offered to individuals to determine whether they have SNP’s in their DNA?

Answer 12

medical screening

Question 13

Aside from determining the presence of diseases and disorders, what is another purpose of sequencing DNA?

Answer 13

determine evolutionary relationships between species

Question 14

What is the proteome?

Answer 14

the proteins the coded for by the genome of an organism.

Question 15

What is the definition of a proteome taking into account that not all genes are switched on to make proteins all of the time?

Answer 15

proteins produced in a given type of cell (cellular proteome) or organism (complete proteome), at a given time, under specified conditions.

Question 16

What is the name of the project currently underway to sequence many single-celled organisms’ genomes?

Answer 16

human microbiome project

Question 17

What is the hope for the human microbiome project after its completion?

Answer 17

help cure diseases and exploit knowledge.

Question 18

Why is it easier to sequence the genome of prokaryotes?

Answer 18

small amount of genetic material with few introns.

Question 19

Knowing the genome of disease causing bacteria could reduce the impact of pathogens. Why?

Answer 19

identify the proteins acting as antigens, crease a vaccine and give to people in appropriate doses. This will allow a secondary immune response to protect people from particular diseases.

Question 20

Why is it difficult to sequence the genome of eukaryotes?

Answer 20

Many introns which are non-coding (as little as 1.5% may code for human proteins), and all humans (except identical twins) have differenced in their genome.