Chapter 7 Flashcards
What allows evolution by natural selection
genetic variation
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA):
a molecule composed of two strands of nucleotides that are wound together into a double helix
a molecule composed of two strands of nucleotides that are wound together into a double helix
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
what is each strand of DNA composed of?
nucleotides
Each nucleotide has
a sugar, a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases
nitrogenous bases
adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G)
what does the order of nitrogenous bases codes for
genetic information
chromosomes
compact structures consisting of long strands of DNA wound around proteins
compact structures consisting of long strands of DNA wound around proteins
chromosomes
what is a chromosome
a really long section of DNA, which is made of nucleotide unites
what are genes
different regions of DNA that code for particular proteins, which in
turn affect particular traits
alleles
different forms of a particular gene
different forms of a particular gene
alleles
what can changes in alleles create
differences in an organism’s phenotype
polygenic
when a single trait is affected by several genes; enables phenotypes to span a range of values in a population (e.g., human body height)
when a single trait is affected by several genes; enables phenotypes to span a range of values in a population (e.g., human body height)
polygenic
phenotype distributions are oftn
bell-shaped
pleiotropy
when a single gene affects multiple traits
when a single gene affects multiple traits
pleiotropy
epistasis
when the expression of one gene is controlled by another gene
when the expression of one gene is controlled by another gene
epistasis
every individual produced by sexual individuals has two copies of each gene,
one from its mother and one from its father
heterozygous
when an individual has two different alleles of a particular gene
homozygous
when an individual has two identical alleles of a particular gene
codominant
when two alleles both contribute to the phenotype
dominant
an allele that masks the expression of the other allele
recessive
an allele whose expression is masked by another allele; most harmful alleles are recessive
gene pool
collection of alleles from all individuals in a population
sexual reproduction combines haploid sex cells of two parents to from new combinations of alleles that
code for novel phenotypes
Random assortment
the process of making haploid gametes in which the combination of alleles that are placed into a given gamete could be any combination of those possessed by the diploid parent
the process of making haploid gametes in which the combination of alleles that are placed into a given gamete could be any combination of those possessed by the diploid parent
random assortment
mutation
a random change in the sequence of nucleotides (sugar, phosphate and nitrogen base) in regions of DNA that controls the expression of a gene
a random change in the sequence of nucleotides (sugar, phosphate and nitrogen base) in regions of DNA that controls the expression of a gene
mutation
mutations can be silent
no detectable effect
other mutations may
alter the physical appearance of an organism, or have lethal effects
setting the stage for meiosis: crossing over
during prophase 1, homologous pairs join together (synapsis) and exchange genetic information
what does exchange of DNA during prophase I do
increases genetic variability - chromatids are no longer exact duplicates
What happens during metaphase
chromosomes line up in pairs, but they line up randomly (random assortment)
Types of mutations
- point mutation
- chromosome inversion
- gene duplication
- polyploidy
point mutation description
base-pair substitutions in DNA sequences
point mutation cause
chance errors during DNA synthesis or during repair of damaged DNA
point mutation significance
creates new alleles
chromosome inversion description
flipping of a chromosome segment, so that the order of genes along the chromosome is altered
chromosome inversion cause
breaks in DNA caused by radiation
chromosome inversion significance
alleles inside the inversion are “locked together” into a unit
gene duplication description
duplication of a short stretch of DNA, creating an additional copy of a gene