Diversity Test Review Flashcards
What is the inky source of novel (new, never seen before) variety in organisms?
Mutation
Are changes in DNA usually good or harmful? Why?
Harmful, causes protein to not function properly.
Does all DNA code for proteins?
No
What is a histone?
Protein
What determines whether or not a new trait in an organism is helpful or harmful?
If the new trait is actually beneficial or reproduces than it is helpful, if it doesn’t do anything or doesn’t benefit the organism its harmful
people who need glasses continue to be common in our population despite some having a hard time seeing clearly. Why does this continue to be a common trait despite not being ideal for survival in other populations of species ?
bad eyesight is a transferrable gene
if two organisms are in the same family, which other taxa must they share?
share the same species
What is binomial nomenclature? How is it used?
two terms are used to denote a species of living organism
used to come up with a scientific name for a species
What is the newest classification, based on molecular data from the 1990s, credited to Carl Woese?
The Three-domain Classification
are humans more closely related to archaea or bacteria?
Archaea
more similar to eukaryotes on the genetic level unlike bacteria
What are the three domains?
the Archaea, the Bacteria, and the Eukarya.
What are the kingdom classifications?
animal, plant, fungi, protist bacteria
What bacteria caused an explosion of biodiversity and why?
The Cambrian explosion
increase in oxygen suddenly crossed an ecological threshold, enabling the emergence of predators.
Are viruses considered alive? Why not?
Viruses are not made out of cells, they can’t keep themselves in a stable state, they don’t grow, and they can’t make their own energy
What are the components of a virus?
nucleic acid (single- or double-stranded RNA or DNA) and a protein coat, the capsid
How are bacteria and viruses different?
bacteria are free-living cells that can live inside or outside a body, while viruses are a non-living collection of molecules that need a host to survive.
what is a prion?
protein that can cause disease in animals and humans by triggering normally healthy proteins in the brain to fold abnormally
How do we classify viruses?
morphology, chemical composition, and mode of replication.
what is the difference between lytic and lysogenic cycles?
The lytic cycle involves the reproduction of viruses using a host cell to manufacture more viruses; the viruses then burst out of the cell. The lysogenic cycle involves the incorporation of the viral genome into the host cell genome, infecting it from within.
What is the difference in DNA and RNA viruses with respect to how they replicate?
DNA viruses are packaged with their polymerase machinery so they can replicate in the host cytoplasm directly. RNA viruses infect cells by injecting RNA into the cytoplasm of the host cells to transcribe and replicate viral proteins.
what is a retrovirus and why is it able to do the lysogenic cycle
A type of virus that has RNA instead of DNA as its genetic material.
they do not use the cell’s normal replication process to reproduce.
do lysogenic viruses eventually become lytic?
Yes
What are antigens and antibodies?
antigen is a foreign substance that enters your body.
antibody is a protein produced by your immune system to attack and fight off these antigens.
how does the body fight of pathogens using the production of antibodies?
Antibodies attach themselves to the foreign substance, allowing other immune system cells to attack and destroy the substance.
What does a vaccine do to help your body fight off an actual pathogen infection?
vaccines are introducing proteins from a dangerous pathogen to the body’s immune system so that the body can learn to identify and fight those pathogens off.
Why would some vaccines need to be redeveloped yearly or require a booster shot?
viruses evolve, meaning the vaccine needs to evolve as well
how does the mutation rate compare for DNA vs RNA viruses?
RNA viruses mutate faster than DNA viruses, single-stranded viruses mutate faster than double-strand virus
What is heard immunity? What percent of people need to have developed antibodies for this to be acheived ?
occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease
aprox. 94%
Doctore try to avoid prescribing antibiotics unless they are sure its a bacterial infection. Why is this a good thing for reducing the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria
antibiotic resistance is not being promoted
What is the difference between sexual and asexual reproduction?
In sexual reproduction, an organism combines the genetic information from each of its parents and is genetically unique. In asexual reproduction, one parent copies itself to form a genetically identical offspring.
What is conjugation?
Conjugation is a form of sexual reproduction in bacteria.
involves 2 parent cells
Meiosis
a type of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes in gametes
What is produced in oogenesis and spermatogenesis respectfully?
haploid sperm and egg cells
What is a plasmid?
a small circular DNA molecule found in bacteria and some other microscopic organisms
Are plasmids considered vital? why or why not?
no, the inheritance of chromosomes is more stable than that for plasmids
What is clade?
a branch that includes a single common ancestor and all of its descendants
What is a cladogram?
branching diagram showing the cladistic relationship between a number of species
What is the dichotomous key and what does it do?
an important scientific tool, used to identify different organisms, based the organism’s observable traits.
What is a homologous trait?
traits present in two or more organisms that were inherited from the common ancestor of those organisms
What is a an analogous trait?
the structures between the two species have to have the same function but they do not necessarily have the same anatomical features.
what is the main classification used today? why do we no longer use natural/artificial classification?
levels of classification
little predictive value
How do we classify bacteria ?
by their shapes ( cocci, bacilli, spirillium
How do we classify protists?
three groups: animal-like protists, plant-like protists, and fungi-like protists
What are 95% of animal organisms?
Invertebrates
Why is bilateral symmetry associated with more complex animals?
They have very different front and back ends.
What does segmentation allow for in organisms
provides the means for an organism to travel and protect its sensitive organs from damage.
what are 2 tissue types only found in animals?
connective and skeletal
what are the 4 features of chordates?
notochord; single, dorsal, tubular nerve cord; pharyngeal pouches; and postanal propulsive tail.
What’s the difference between vertebrates and chordates?
some chordates do not have a vertebral column whereas all vertebrates have a vertebral column.
Where are the vertebrate phyla?
in the phylum Chordata
what is a lichen and what is unique about it
a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga.
composed of 2 different species
