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