DNA & Reproduction- Biology Paper 2 Flashcards
What is DNA?
A polymer made up of lots of nucleotides
What does each nucleotide consist of ?
one sugar molecule, one phosphate molecule, one base
What forms a ‘backbone’ to the DNA strands?
the sugar and phosphate molecule
What are the 4 different bases?
Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine
Which bases pair with which?
Adenine with Thymine, and Guanine with Cytosine
What does complementary base pairing decide?
Which base pairs with which base
What does a sequence of 3 bases make?
One amino acid
Where are proteins made ?
In the ribosomes
What do the ribosomes use to make proteins?
The code in the DNA
What does mRNA do?
carries a copy of the protein code between the DNA and the ribosome
Give 2 functions of proteins
Enzymes, which act as biological catalysts and hormones, which carry messages around the body
What is a mutation?
A ransom change in an organism’s DNA, which can sometimes be inhereted
What can cause DNA mutations?
ionising radiation and chemical mutagens - such as tar from cigarette smoke
What do mutations do?
Change the sequence of DNA bases in a gene and this can lead to changes in the protein that it codes for
What are the different types of DNA mutation?
Insertions, Deletions and substitutions
What is an insertion mutation?
Where a new base is inserted into the DNA base sequence where it shouldn’t be. This can change the amino acid that the base codes for
What is a deletion mutation?
When a random base is deleted from the DNA base sequence .This has knock on effects down the sequence
What are substitution mutations?
Where a ransom base in the DNA base sequence is changed to a different base
How many chromosomes do gametes have?
23
What is a gamete?
a sperm or egg cell
What is sexual reproduction?
where male and female gametes fuse. The genetic material becomes mixed because there are 2 different parents
How does asexual reproduction occur?
By mitosis
How many parents are there in asexual reproduction?
one
In asexual reproduction, why are the offspring genetically identical to the parent?
Because there’s only one parent and so genetic information is not mixed
What is meiosis?
Meiosis is the type of cell division that produces gametes
What are the steps of meiosis?
- Genetic material is replicated
- Chromosomes are pulled apart
- Cell divides 2 more times
- 4 non- Identical daughter cells are produced, each with 23 chromosomes
Where in the body does meiosis happen?
In the reproductive organs
What process does asexual reproduction use?
Mitosis
What is produced when male and female gametes fuse?
A zygote
What are the advantages of sexual reproduction?
- Produces variation in the offspring
- The species can adapt to new environments due to variation, which gives them a survival advantage
- A disease is less likely to affect all the individuals in a population
- Humans can speed up natural selection through selective breeding, which can increase food production
What are the disadvantages of sexual reproduction?
- time and energy are needed to find a mate
- it is not possible for an isolated individual
What are the advantages of asexual reproduction?
- the population can increase rapidly when the conditions are favourable
- only one parent is needed
- it is more time and energy efficient as you don’t need a mate
- it is faster than sexual reproduction
What are the disadvantages of asexual reproduction?
- it does not lead to variation in a population
- the species may only be suited to one habitat
- disease may affect all the individuals in a population
How does the parasite carried by mosquitoes reproduce when it’s in the mosquito?
Sexually
How does the parasite carried by mosquitoes reproduce when it’s in the human body?
Asexually
How do fungus reproduce?
Both sexually and asexually
How do strawberries reproduce asexually?
Strawberry plants produce ‘runners’. These are stems that grow horizontally on the surface of the soil away from a plant. At various points along the runner, a new strawberry plant forms that is identical to the original plant.
How do bulbs reproduce asexually?
New bulbs can form from the main bulb and grow into a new identical plant
How do plants sexually reproduce?
Plants use sexual reproduction to produce seeds
What are chromosomes?
long threads of DNA, which are made up of many genes.
What are genes?
mall section of DNA in a chromosome. Each gene codes for a particular sequence of amino acids in order to make a specific protein. It is the unit of heredity, and may be copied and passed on to the next generation.
What is a genome?
the entire genetic material of an organism
What does understanding the human genome allow us to do?
- search for genes linked to different types of disease
- understand inherited disorders and their treatment
- trace human migration patterns from the past
do all parts of the DNA code for proteins?
Not all parts of the DNA code for proteins, there is a coding and non-coding part of DNA, which can switch genes on and off, so variations in these areas may affect gene expression, and if the correct protein is synthesised or not.
What is a punnet sqaure?
A type of genetic diagram, which shows the probability of any offspring inheriting certain genes
What are alleles?
Different versions of a gene
How many alleles to gametes have?
One
How many alleles do most cells have?
2