9A Flashcards
what is gene pool
the complete set of alleles present within a particular population
what is gene
a section of DNA that carries the code to make a protein
what is allele
an alternate form of a gene
what is population
a group of individuals of the same species living in the same location
what is alleles frequency
the proportion of certain alleles in a gene pool
what is phenotype
the physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism that are the result of gene expression and the environment
genotype
the genetic composition of an organism at a particular gene locus
genetic diversity
the variation in alleles within a population
mutation
a permanent change to a DNA sequence
mutagen
an agent that can cause mutations in DNA
deleterious
used to describe alleles that have an overall negative effect on individual fitness when expressed
heritability
the transmission from parent to offspring (i.e. encoded in genes)
somatic cell
any cell in an organism that is not a germline cell
germline cell
a cell involved in the generation of gamates in eukaryotes
point mutation
a mutation that alters a single nucleotide in a DNA sequence
block mutation
a mutation that affects a large chunk of DNA, or an entire gene.
silent mutation
a mutation in which a nucleotide is substituted for another, changing the codon, but still coding for the same amino acid. therefore, there is no effect on protein structure.
missense mutation
a mutation in which a nucleotide is substituted for another, changing the codon and coding for a different amino acid. therefore, there can potentially be an effect on protein structure.
nonsense mutation
a mutation in which a nucleotide is substituted for another, changing the codon to a stop codon, prematurely ceasing translation of the gene’s mRNA. Therefore, there is an effect on protein structure.
frameshift mutation
a mutation that involves the insertion or deletion of one ore two nucleotides, altering every codon from that point forward.
degenerate
a property of the gentic code which means that a single amino acid can be coded for by more than one codon.
reading frame
the order in which nucleotide triplets or codons are divided into a consecutive, non-overlapping sequence.
aneuploidy
when a cell or organism varies in the usual amount of chromosomes in its genome by the addition or loss of a chromosome
polyploidy
when an organism contains additional sets of chromosomes in its genome
