Ch. 1 - Intro

Question 1

What is genetics?

Answer 1

a study of genes and how they are transmitted

Question 2

Genetics is a field of biology that studies ____ and ____.

Answer 2

heredity and variation

Question 3

Offspring contain genetic info that has been transmitted (inherited) from ____.

Answer 3

parents

Question 4

Variation arise through:
*
*
*

Answer 4

• mutation
• gametogenesis (independent assortment and crossing over)
• random fertilization

Question 5

Why very few studies (in genetics) involved humans?

3 reasons

Answer 5

• -> relatively few progeny
• -> intergenerational time = long
• -> significant ethical issues (controlled experiments with human)

Question 6

Most of understanding of genetics obtained through studies using _____.

Answer 6

model organisms

Question 7

What are the major model (genetic) organisms?

Answer 7

• -> e-coli and bacteriophage
• -> saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker’s yeast)
• -> neurospora (a frlmentons fungi)
• -> arabidopsis thaliana (mustard cress)
• -> drosophila melamogaster (fruit fly)
• -> caenorhabditis elegans (a nemotode)
• -> danio rerio (zebrafish)
• -> mus musculus (mouse)

Question 8

List the attributes of model genetic organisms.

Answer 8

• -> progeny (lots)
• -> easy & cheap to work with
• -> short gen time (grow fast)
• -> genetic analysis = straightforward
• -> representative “model”
  - -> to determine how things may work in a larger group of organisms
• ** prokaryotes
• ** fungi
• ** insects
• ** plants
• ** mammals

today: have sequenced genomes

Question 9

Explain the historical context of genetics.

Answer 9

See notebook for reference

Question 10

Genome sequencing is now:
*
*
*
give an example.

Answer 10

• fast
• accurate
• cheap

–> ancestry services 23 and me

Question 11

What is CRISPR / Cas9 ?

And how does it work?

Answer 11

new techs evolving

–> may allow deletions and mutations to be edited

Question 12

Approaches to genetics: describe how forward and reverse genetics work.

Answer 12

genotype

phenotype

Question 13

What are the areas of genetics that are going to be taught in this course? Define each one.

Answer 13

classical

• -> Mendelian genetics (inheritance patterns)
• -> pedigree analysis
• -> linkage analysis and gene mapping
• -> gene interactions

molecular genetics

• -> DNA -> mRNA -> protein (genetic info flow)
• -> regulation of gene expression
• -> recombinant DNA tech

genomics

• -> study of genomes
• -> proteomics, & other -omics techs, and bioinformatics