DNA heredity Flashcards
what is genetics?
study of heredity and variation in cells, individuals and population
what is a gene?
functional unit of heredity variation
what is molecular genetics?
study of structure and function of genes at the molecular level
what is an allele and what is it caused by?
various forms of a gene caused by differences in DNA sequence
what is a genotype?
genes inherited by an organism
what is a phenotype?
visible traits
what is a genome?
entire DNA sequence of an organism
what is a gene in terms of DNA?
DNA sequence involved in RNA and protein formation
where are genes found?
on chromosomes
what is gene expression?
tuning on a gene so that it has an effect
has to be a coding gene
what is a coding gene?
a gene that gets converted to protein
what is a non coding gene?
a gene that does not get converted to protein
what is protein expression?
the type and abundance of proteins in the cell
how does protein determine phenotype?
protein determines and controls every reaction in the cell
what does an enzyme do?
catalyses the synthesis and transformation of all biomolecules
what do structural proteins do?
maintenance of cell shape
what are signalling proteins?
hormones and receptors
what two things make individuals different from eachother?
different alleles
different regulation of gene and protein expression
why do we sequence genomes?
to understand the type and abundance of RNA and protein that result in the phenotype of the organism
what do we need in order to sequence genomes?
identify all the genes in the genome
what are 5 reasons studying molecular genetics is important?
human health
forensics (DNA fingerprinting)
agriculture
environment
evolutionary biology
what does human health entail?
better understanding of human diseases resulting in new therapeutics and diagnostics
what does forensics entail?
crime, paternity tests, matching
organ donors, authenticate consumables, source of food poisoning outbreaks, Covid-19 variants
what does agriculture entail?
superior crops and livestock; “pharm”
animals