Combined Biology - 4.6 Flashcards
What type of cell division leads to identical cells being formed?
Mitosis
What type of cell division leads to non-identical cells being formed?
Meiosis
What does sexual reproduction, in animals, involve?
The joining (fusing) of male and female gametes (sperm and egg)
What does sexual reproduction, in plants, involve?
The joining (fusing) of gametes (pollen and egg cells)
What does sexual reproduction lead to and why?
Variety in the offspring as there is mixing of genetic information
What is asexual reproduction?
One parent (no fusion or mixing of genetic information) leading to genetically identical offspring
What is a clone?
Genetically identical offspring (a result of asexual reproduction)
What does meiosis do to the number of chromosomes in the gamete?
It halves it (46 to 23)
What happens to the number of chromosomes during fertilisation?
It doubles (male and female gametes both have 23 chromosomes, combining to make 46)
What key stages occur when a cell divides to form gametes (meiosis)?
- Copies of the genetic information are made
- The cell divides twice forming four gametes (each with a single set of chromosomes)
- All the gametes are genetically different from each other
What is the genetic material in the nucleus of a cell composed of?
DNA
What is the structure of DNA?
A polymer made up of two strands forming a double helix
What is DNA contained in?
Chromosomes
What is a gene?
A small section of DNA on a chromosome
What does a gene code for?
A particular sequence of amino acids, which make specific proteins
What is the genome of an organism?
The entire genetic material of that organism
Why is having the human genome sequence important?
It will be of benefit to medicine
Why is understanding the human genome important?
- Genes linked to different types of disease can be searched for
- Inherited disorders can be understood / treated
- Migration patterns of the past can be traced
Explain the term: gamete
A sex cell (e.g. sperm or egg)
Explain the term: chromosome
A long molecule of DNA, found in the nucleus of a cell, which carries genes
Explain the term: gene
A short section of DNA, found on a chromosome, carrying the instructions needed to make a protein (and so controls the development of a characteristic)
Explain the term: allele
An alternative version of a gene
Explain the term: dominant
The allele for the characteristic that’s shown by an organism if two different alleles are present for that characteristic
Explain the term: recessive
An allele whose characteristic only appears in an organism if there are two copies present
Explain the term: homozygous
Where an organism has two alleles for a particular gene that are the same
Explain the term: heterozygous
Where an organism has two alleles for a particular gene that are different
Explain the term: genotype
What alleles and organism has, e.g. Tt
Explain the term: phenotype
The characteristics an organism has, e.g. tall
Give an example of characteristics controlled by a single gene
Fur colour in mice / red-green colour blindness in humans
What controls the phenotype (what is expressed)?
Alleles present (or genotype) operating at a molecular level to develop characteristics expressed (as a phenotype)