Chapter 2 Flashcards
Individual biological properties of a species are referred to as?
Characters or traits
What is gene discovery?
The genetic approach to understanding any biological trait is to find the subset of genes in the genome that influence it.
What is the basic approach of genetics?
Compare the properties of variants with the standard to make deductions for genetic function.
What is the most common form of a trait of an organism?
Wild-type
What heritable trait differs from the standard/wild-type?
Mutant trait
What are wild types and mutant traits also called?
Phenotypes
Are mutants or wild-type more rare?
Mutant
Where do mutant traits arise from, and are they good or bad?
Mutant traits are just mutations in the wild-type phenotypes, which result in heritable change. Mutant traits can be good or bad, but most of the time, they have no observable changes to the individual.
What are the general steps in analyzing a trait through gene discovery?
- Amass mutants affecting the traits of interest
- Cross-mutant individuals with wild-type individuals to see if their descendants show ratios of wild-type-to-mutant-phenotypes that are characteristics of single-gene inheritance.
- Deduce the functions of the gene at a molecular level
- Deduce how the genes interact with either gene to produce the trait in question.
What does gene discovery start with?
A “hunt” to mass mutants in which biological function under investigation is altered or destroyed.
How to increase the mutation rate?
Chemicals or radiation.
The most direct way to identify mutants?
The most direct way to identify mutants is to screen a large number of individuals and look for the chance of mutations occurring in the population.
Are all mutants caused by a single mutation within one gene?
No.
What is the test for single-gene inheritance?
Cross an individual with the mutant phenotype and the wild-type individual, then analyze the F1 and F2 generations.
What is genetic dissection?
When a trait is picked apart to find the underlying genetic program.
