EE09

Question 1

What are microsatelites?

Answer 1

Microsatelites are variable genetic markers with SSR’s - simple sequence repeats. They are highly variable in number of repeats due to copying error.

Question 2

What can microsatelites be used for?

Answer 2

to identify species from food or poo, work out relationships, interbreeding etc.

Question 3

What region is used to sex species?

Answer 3

SRY - sex determining region

Question 4

Give three example where microsatellites have been used?

Answer 4

Pyrenees brown bear
-tracked foot prints
-collected fur or dung
-MS showed five bears 
- SRY showed more males than thought
-only few bears left. 
Lynx 
- low level heeterozygote
- low level functional sperm (inbred)
- ms used to compare males and focus efforts on more outbread males.
Water Bug
-males carry eggs on back
- females deposit oviposits on backs
- ms markers worked out father showed 28% fathered by different male.

Question 5

What method was used to record cheetahs in algeria and what was the problem with this method?

Answer 5

Algerian Cheetahs

• hadn’t been recorded in a while
• collected carnivore poo- 40 samples
• amplified cytochrome oxidase b mitochondrial gene
• pcr sequences
• identified using phylogenetics

problems can arise if looking at carnivores that eat other carnivores. - dna or prey in feces

Question 6

What factors effect genetic variation?

Answer 6

1. population size
2. mutation rate of marker being used
3. level of inbreeding.
4. population sub division (gene flow)
5. population history

Question 7

What are Transitions?
What are Transversions?
Which are more likely?

Answer 7

Transitions    *more likely
A  G
C  T  
Transversions
A  C
G T
C G
T A

Question 8

What is the coalescence theory?

Answer 8

Model of population genetics

attempts to trace all alleles of a gene shared by all members of a population to a single ancesteral copy. =MRCA

Question 9

What did analysis of human mtDNA show and what was the general process?

Answer 9

• maternally inherited
• amplifiy marker region using primer eg. cytooxidase
• pcr etc
• results consistent with out of africa theory of human distribution
• all mt variation dates back to 190k

Question 10

What markers would be used to reconstruct
-individual 
-population
-species
histories?

Answer 10

individual 
- microsatelites 
- SNPs
Population 
-mtDNA 
-SNP's
Species 
-mtDNA 
- Nuclear DNA