Bio Lecture Mega-Quiz Flashcards
What is transcription?
the process of RNA synthesis from a DNA template
What is mRNA
an RNA molecule made as a complementary copy of a gene
What is RNA polymerase?
the enzyme responsible for attaching RNA nucleotides together in the sequence specified by the DNA
What is point mutation?
a change in one base pair (one letter) of a gene
What are silent mutations?
mutations that are not evident in an organism’s phenotype
What are missense mutations?
changes an amino acid codon for a different amino acid –> gives the protein different functional characteristics
What are nonsense mutations?
changes an amino acid codon into a stop codon –> leads to early termination in protein production
What are spontaneous mutations?
mutations that occur naturally due to errors made during DNA replication/DNA repair/DNA recombination
What are frameshift mutations?
alteration in the way that all downstream codons will be read
What are mutagens?
chemical or physical agents that interact with DNA to cause mutations
What is the evolution theory?
evolutionary change due to biological problems
What is microevolution?
changes in the genetic makeup of populations
What is macroevolution?
large-scale evolutionary changes that can lead to speciation
What is evolution via natural selection?
overproduction, inheritance/competition, and natural selection
What is inference #1?
overproduction - resource limitations lead to more individuals being produced in a population than will survive
What is inference #2?
inheritance/competition - organisms must compete to survive –> survival is not random
What is inference #3?
evolution by natural selection - differential reproduction leads to gradual changes in a population over many generations with favorable characteristics
What is sexual selection?
nonrandom mating in which an organism’s phenotype impacts its ability to attract mates (Ex: colored bird feathers on males to attract females)
What is the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium conditions?
1) no mutations
2) random mating
3) no natural selection
4) large population size
5) no gene flow
What is a gene pool?
the total collection of genes in a population at any one time
What is genetic drift?
random/chance events that impact allele frequencies in small populations (Ex: bottleneck effect and founder effect)
What is gene flow?
interbreeding via genetic exchange between populations (Ex: pollen being dispersed to one plant to the next)
What is the bottleneck effect?
a # of individuals in a population are removed from the gene pool due to an environmental disaster
What is the founder effect?
a new population is established by a few individuals with limited genetic variability
