DNA, Gene Storage, and Gene Expression Flashcards
What is DNA?
DNA is a chemical blueprint that is used for building and regulating living organisms.
How does the structure of DNA help it to function?
The double helix keeps the information safe inside the sugar-phosphate backbone. The sugar-phosphate backbone can open and close making the information readable.
Where is DNA found and how is it stored?
DNA is found in the nucleus and is stored by getting tightly wrapped proteins; making it a chromosome.
What are the four nucleotide bases in DNA and which bases pair together?
The four nucleotide bases are adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Cytosine and guanine go together and adenine and thymine go together.
What is a chromosome and how many chromosomes do humans have?
A chromosome is a structure that is made up of the cell’s DNA wrapped around proteins. Humans have 46 chromosomes.
Why do you have two copies of each chromosome?
People have two copies of each chromosome because we receive one chromosome from each of our biological parents.
What is different about the 23rd pair of chromosomes in males and females?
Males have two chromosomes called XY - one chromosome is smaller than the other, while the females have XX- the chromosomes are the same size.
What is a gene? How many genes are generally involved in expressing a trait?
A gene is a segment of DNA that contains instructions for making a product like protein or multiple proteins. There are thousands of genes in an expressed trait.
What is the difference between a gene and an allele? How are they related?
An allele is alternate version of a gene while a gene is the origanal version of the gene. They are related because they are both a version of the gene.
How are genes stored in the body?
The human body is made of cells, all human cells have a nucleus, inside the nucleus are 46 chromosomes made up of tightly twisted strands of DNA inside the DNA there are gene segments.
What is a protein? Why are they important for the expression of traits?
A protein is a molecule made up of amino acids is is important for expressing traits because the proteins lead the expression of a trait.
What does it mean for a gene to be expressed?
When a gene is expressed that means that its instructions have been followed by the cell.
How do your genes (nature) affect the traits you express?
Your genes affect your traits because you inherit chromosomes from your biological parents and those chromosomes contain DNA inside the DNA there are gene segments that provide instructions for cells to follow.
How can the environment (nurture) affect the way that traits are expressed?
The environment affects the way that your traits are expressed because if one identical twin is not eating as much as the other identical twin and they have the same alleles and the twin that did not eat as much does not grow, that is not because of your genes you inherited it is because of your environment.
Are most traits controlled purely by either genes or the environment, or are most traits controlled by genes and the environment interacting with each other? Explain/Justify your answer with a real-world example.
Most traits are controlled by both environment and genes. For example, your height is determined by how much you eat, but also by what genes you inherited from your biological parents.
