Chapter 1: The Study of Biological Information Flashcards
What is the value of genetics?
- God created the heavens and the earth (author): discussed through scripture
- God actively maintains the created order (sustainer)
- It reveals God
What does all life have in common?
Same structure/chemical properties (the ordering determines the organism)
What is DNA?
A polymer of nucleotide subunits
What are nucleotides?
1) Phosphate group
2) Deoxyribose sugar
3) Nitrogenous base (A, T, G, C)
2 + 3 = nucleoside
What does the orientation of the DNA tell us?
*Tells us which direction to read it
3’ and 5’, two strands are opposite to each other
What is RNA?
molecule in the decoding process (DNA –> protein) like DNA but has a ribose sugar
What is a base pair?
neighbor nucleotides that associate through hydrogen bonds {AT} {GC}
How do we get biological information?
The sequence of nucleotides
What is a codon?
Three nucleotides which then code for one amino acid
What are chromosomes?
assembly of DNA molecules and proteins that contain many genes
What are genes?
Sequences of DNA that encode a protein
“segments of information”
(May encode more than one trait or work with other genes to encode one trait)
What is a genome? What is the human genome?
The entire collection of chromosomes (set info)
- Humans: 46 chromosomes
– females: 23 sets
– males: 22 sets + X and Y
– 3 x 10^9 base pairs
– genes: unknown! 20,000-30,000
What are proteins? (sequence, type, structure, function)
Polymers of the 20 amino acids (64 possible combinations of the 3 nucleotides)
- amino acid sequence determined by the info from DNA order
- type and 3D structure is determined by the amino acid sequence
- diverse function is determined by diverse 3D structure
What are the aspects of amino acids?
Amino group & carboxyl group (common backbone), side chain (unique) interacts with ammino acids to determine chemical properties)
- Bonds: peptide bonds (carboxyl + amino group - H2O)
- diff sequence –> unique 3D shape –> function
What are examples of protein roles?
Antibodies, enzymes, messenger, structural component, transport/storage
*Important for the function of all life (humans, plants, bacteria)
What are the aspects of RNA?
- Similar structure to DNA but ribose sugar & Uracil (not thiamine)
- Function: Store info, replicate, mutate, & express information (messenger)
- Also fold 3 dimensions and catalyze chemical processes: single strand leaves open for degradation, folding protects
- Tends to be unstable (especially ssRNA)
What does it mean that all organisms use the same molecular specialization?
All organisms have
- DNA: store and replicate biological information
- RNA: intermediate in production of
- Proteins: to catalyze biological processes
- Decoding begins at start codon (AUG, Met) and end at stop codon
What are the shortened versions of alanine?
Ala, A
What are the shortened versions of aspartic acid?
Asp, D
What are the shortened versions of asparagine?
Asn, N
What are the shortened versions of cysteine?
Cys, C
What are the shortened versions of Glycine?
Gly, G
What are the shortened versions of glutamic acid?
Glu, E
What are the shortened versions of glutamine?
Gln Q
What are the shortened versions of histidine?
His, H
What are the shortened versions of isoleucine?
Ile, I
What are the shortened versions of leucine?
Leu, L
What are the shortened versions of lysine?
Lys, K
What are the shortened versions of arginine?
Arg, R
What are the shortened versions of methionine?
Met, M
What are the shortened versions of phenylalanine?
Phe, F
What are the shortened versions of threonine?
Thr, T
What are the shortened versions of Tryptophan?
Trp, W
What are the shortened versions of tyrosine?
Tyr, Y
What are the shortened versions of valine?
Val, V
What are the shortened versions of proline?
Pro, P
What are the shortened versions of Serine?
Ser, S
What about genes with similar function in different organisms?
- produce similar gene products
- gene from one organism can often functionally replace a gene in another organism
What is the evolutionary understanding of genes?
- gene families come from one ancestral gene
- occurs: duplication then sequence divergency (no new code from scratch)
- REQUIRES: mutations of key regulatory neteorks
What are key regulatory networks and how are they involved in evolutionary ideas?
Affect location, timing, and level of gene expression
- ie 2 wing fly from 4 wing fly then convert wings to halteres
What are modern genetic techniques?
- Genetic study is the dissection of model organisms: inactivate genes and find out consequences making conclusions about gene product function
- Genomics: determine sequence of entire genome (more feasible recently)
– 10 years, 3 billion
– days, $5,000
– First step now figure out where genes are since only small fraction of DNA is used for protein synthesis
What is the purpose of model organisms in genomics?
Learn about a group by focusing on one organism
- provide valuable information about biology
What are the good and bad of human genetics in society?
- Good: help predict possibilities/risks of disease, design therapeutic drugs, parenting profile
- Bad: Discrimination, misinterpretation of information, bioengineered weapons
What is the use of interpretation of genetic information?
- Identify diseases before symptoms occur: some genes indicate disease will occur or is more likely to occur
- Education is essential for understanding the statistics/probability
What are guidelines for genetic engineering?
- 2008: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
- Transgenetic technology (genetic engineering): routine in animals, what about humans (already been done, HIV resistance in embryos, gene editing for cancer treatment)
- HGE determined ethical for cancer treatment
- Must be wise and practice good stewardship: enter with caution and think through consequences
