envs lecture 5 Flashcards
what provides material that selection acts on
mutation and variation
what would happen without variation in phenotype
nothing for natural selection to act on
what provides new variation
mutation
chromosome
strings of DNA bases bound together by proteins
what is main structure in machinery of inheritance
chromosomes
what are proteins in chromosomes
histones
do all species have same number of chromosomes
no
locus
position on a chromosome
gene
physical unit of heredity
what is gene composed of
DNA
what is gene the code for
proteins and RNAs
what is gene used interchangeably with
locus
does a locus always code for protein
not always
is locus always part of a gene
not always
codons
sets of 3 DNA bases that are translated to AAs in protein-coding genes
synonymous codon/mutation
doesn’t change amino acid and thus protein
non-synonymous codon/mutation
changes amino acid, can cause sickle cell anemia etc.
allele
alternative forms of a gene
homozygotes
carry exact same form on both chromosomes
how many alleles for a given gene can an individual have
no more than two alleles
how many alleles for a given gene can a population have
many different alleles
what is genetic basis of variation in populations
population having many diff alleles for a given gene
central dogma
DNA –> RNA –> protein
what does dNA code for
codons
what are codons transcribed to
RNA
what is RNA translated to
proteins
SNP
single nucleotide polymorphism
what is SNP
single DNA base that defines alternative alleles at a locus
example of SNP
likeee 2 alleles of gene XYZ differ at a SNP at position 242
homologous chromosomes
pair of chromosomes
basically what is SNP
when a single base pair difference causes difference b/w two alleles
exon
segments of a gene that code for amino acids
introns
noncoding DNA segments in between exons
what is 1st step of protein synthesis
cell first transcribes DNA from genes into RNA (pre messenger RNA)
2nd step
pre mRNA is spliced, so parts of molecular are removed to form a mature mRNA
3rd step
mRNA translated into a string of AAs that make up a protein
what happens in genomes where this process happens
segments of gene that are spliced out b/c they don’t encode AAs are introns
what are regions that do encode for AAs
exons
purpose of introns?
variable, but we know they impact gene expression
how do introns impact gene expression
alternative splicing
alternative splicing
allows a single gene to encode for more than one protein
summary of chromosomes & machinery of inheritance
organisms have chromosomes, within which are found protein coding genes, which are composed of codons, which can be changed to form diff versions of the same gene called alleles
phneotype
observable characteristics of an organism
what does natural selection act on
phenotype
when does evolutionary change only occur
if phenotypes are heritable
genotype
unique genetic makeup of an organism
are genotype and phenotype completely linked
not necessarily; b/c phenotype can be influenced by environment as well as genetics
what happens if there’s no genetic variation and inheritance
no evolution
segregation
separation of alleles during meiosis so that each gamete carries only one allele for each locus
why is segregation important
all alleles have an equal change of being inherited in next gen
hardy weinberg equilibrium
HWE characterizes distributions of genotype frequencies in populations that are NOT EVOLVING
what happens if genotypic frequencies in the population we’re studying are not at HWE
we need to explain this pattern via one of many processes causing evolutionary change in populations
what does HWE provide
null model from which to understand process of genotypic & phenotypic evolution, based on what we expect due to chance alone
when a population is in HWE, what is needed for equilibrium to be reached
when segregation is the only factor that influences genotype frequencies
formula for genotype frequencies after one generation of random mating
p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1
what is p
frequency of homozygous genotypes (allele 1)
what is 2pq
frequency of heterozygous genotypes
what is q^2
frequency of homozygous genotypes (allele 2)
what is HWE
null model, reached under specific set of conditions
first HWE condition
mating is random
second HWE condition
population size is very large (inifinte)
3rd HWE condition
gene flow does not occur
4th HWE condition
mutation doesn’t occur [negligible anyway]
5th HWE condition
locus concerned is not under selection (no fitness difference b/w alleles)
why is this null model even useful
observed in natural populations; find it in nature when mating is random w/r to genotype at most loci in genome
so basically why is HWE interesting
deviations from HWE tell us that a locus is involved in an interesting evolutionary process
how to find frequency of A allele
add freq of homozygotes and half freq of heterozygote
a mechanism by which genetic variation is produced & inherited (i.e. evolution is allowed to occur)
recombination
recombination
occurs in meiosis & gamete production –> produces new genetic combos within a gamete
how does recombination occur
by independent assortment or crossing over