Chapter 5 - Raw Material of Variation Flashcards
The structural units that, among other functions, link together to forms proteins.
Amino Acid
The structural units that link together to form DNA (and RNA).
Nucleotide
One of four nitrogen-based molecules in DNA
Nucleobase (Base)
Any change to the genomic sequence of an organism.
Mutation
The third macromolecule essential for all know forms of life (along with DNA and proteins).
RNA
segments of DNA whose nucleotide sequences code for proteins, or RNA, or regulate the expression of other genes.
Genes
The process by which information from a gene is transformed into a product.
Gene Expression
Chromosomes that pair during meiosis but differ in copy number between males and females
Sexual Chromosome
The number of copes of unique chromosomes in a cell (n).
Ploidy
The process that takes place when RNA polymerase reads a coding sequence of DNA and produces a complementary strand of mRNA, called messenger RNA.
Transcription
The process hat takes place when a strand of mRNA is decoded by a ribosome to produce a strand of amino acids.
Translation
Proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences and act, in essence, like a light switch by turning all the sequences on or off simultaneously.
Transcription Factors
A molecular signal that flows form cells in one part of the body to cells in other parts of the body.
Hormone
The process of modifying RNA after transcription but before translation, during which introns are removed and eons are joined together into a contiguous strand.
RNA Splicing
The process of combing different subsets of eons together, yielding different mRNA transcriptions from a single gene.
Alternative Splicing
All of the hereditary information of an organism.
Genome
one group of RNAs that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expressions
MicroRNA
DNA sequences that resemble function genes but have lost their protein coding ability or are no longer expressed.
Pseudogenes
Types of DNA that can move around in the genome. Common examples include transposons (“Jumping genes”) and plasmids
Mobile Genetic Elements
the process of receiving genetic material from an ancestor.
Vertical Gene Transfer
Any process in which genetic material is transferred to another organisms with descent.
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Molecules ofDNA, found most often in bacteria, that can replicate independently or chromosomal DNA
Plasmids
Stretches of DNA located near a gene-either immediately upstream (Adjacent to the promoter region), downstream, or inside an interim-that influence the expression of that gene
Cis-acting Elements
Sequences of DNA that located away from the focal gene (e.g. on another chromosome). These stretches of DNA general code for a protein, microRNA, or other diffusible molecule that then influences expression of the focal gene.
Trans-acting Elements
Mutations that affect cells int he body of an organism.
Somatic Mutations
Mutations that affect the gametes of an individual and can be transmitted from parents to offspring.
Germ-line mutations
one of several alternative forms of the DNA sequences of the same locus.
Allele
A form of cell division that occurs only in Eukaryotes, in which the number of chromosomes is cut in half.
Meiosis
The exchange of genetic material between pairs chromosomes during meiosis.
Genetic Recombination
The genetic makeup of an individual.
Genotype
An observable, measurable characteristic of an organism.
Phenotype
The simultaneous occurrence of two or more discrete phenotypes within a population. in the simplest case, each phenotype results from a different allele or combination of alleles or a single gene. in more complex cases, the phenotypes result from complex interactions between many different genes and environment.
Genetic Polymorphism
A trait for which multiple, discrete phenotypes can arise from a single genotype depending on environmental circumstances.
Polyphenic Trait
Alleles that produce the same phenotype whether they are paired with an identical allele or a different allele.
Dominant Allele
Alleles that produce their characteristic phenotypes only when they are paired with an identical allele.
Recessive allele.
Measurable phenotypes that cary among individuals over a given range to produce a continuos distribution of phenotypes.
Quantitative Traits
A signaling molecule that flows between nearby cells and acts directly to alter expression of target genes.
Morphogen
Changes in the phenotype produced by a single genotype in different environment.
Phenotypic Plasticity
