Eukaryotic genome structure. Flashcards
What is the ‘C value’?
Amount of DNA in a haploid nucleus for a given species- basically the genome size.
What is the ‘genome paradox’?
Complexity of a organism does not correspond to the genome size.
What is an example of a group of organisms that have a very varied genome size?
Flowering plants.
What fold difference is there between the sizes of insects genomes?
100.
What are the difference in genome sizes not down to?
The protein coding sequencing.
How large is the human genome?
3200Mb.
The human genome is 3200Mb, how much of this is made of exons?
48Mb.
How much of the human genome is made of ‘genes and related sequences’?
1200Mb.
How much of the human genome is made of ‘Intergenic DNA?’
2000Mb.
What is meant by gene density?
The average number of genes per Mb.
What organism does this data set correspond to?
Gene density: 96
Av introns per gene: 0.04
Amount of genome taken up by genome wide repeats: 3.4%
Yeast.
What organism does this data set correspond to?
Gene density: 76
Av introns per gene: 3
Amount of genome taken up by genome wide repeats: 12%
Fruit fly.
What organism does this data set correspond to?
Gene density: 11
Av introns per gene: 9
Amount of genome taken up by genome wide repeats: 44%
Humans.
The human genome is _____ densely packed than lower eukaryotes such as yeast.
Less.
What is the median intron length in humans?
3.3kb - this is big.
Why can humans accommodate for longer introns in their genome?
As spend longer in cell division meaning there is less selection pressure to get rid of large introns.
How much of the human genome is made up of satellite DNA?
6%.
Satellite DNA is made up of tandem repeats of ______.
1-500bp.
How long and mircosatellites?
1-13bp HOWEVEVER most are between 1-4.
How many repeats are microsatellites normally made from?
Less than 150.
How long are minisatellites?
14-100bp.
How many repeats are minisatellites made from?
1-5kb tandem arrays spread around the genome.
How long are satellites?
100-500bp.
Where are satellite DNA repeats especially important?
Mammalian centromeres.
What gene has a length of 1.4 Kb and 2 introns which make up 69% of the gene?
Insulin.
What gene has a length go 2400 Kb and 78 introns which make up 98% of the gene?
Dystrophin.
Each individual has a _______ set of satellite DNA.
Different.
Pol can often attach at the wrong place, what can this result in?
Pol going backwards, copying the same thing twice. Can also miss out a section if moves forward.
What is the consequence of pol slippage?
Lengthening or shortening of the daughter chromosome.
What can cause an increase in the number of repeats in the gametes?
Crossing over between misaligned repeats.
Techniques have recently been developed so you can tell where you are in an array. True or false?
False, it is impossible to tell.
What type of DNA is normally phenotypically neutral as it is found in-between genes?
Satellite DNA.
What is repeated in Huntingtons?
CAG.
What happens to proteins with expanded CAG repeats?
They are degraded into toxic fragments which accumulate in neurones and stop them working properly.
What age does Huntington’s normally kick in?
Around the age of 40.
What replication error can cause Huntingtons?
Slippage.
What repeat count of CAG doesn’t cause Huntingtons and results in no risk to offspring?
What repeat count of CAG doesn’t cause Huntingtons but elevates the risk of Huntingtons in offspring to
27-35.
What repeat count of CAG can result in Huntingtons and causes the offspring to have a 50% risk of getting the disorder?
36-39.
What repeat count of CAG will result in Huntigtons and a risk count of 50% in offspring?
40+.
What does DNA fingerprinting involve?
Polymorphisms in the microsatellite DNA length in individuals.
Who developed DNA fingerprinting in the 80’s?
Alec Jeffery’s.
What are three roles of DNA fingerprinting?
- Paternity testing.
- Forensics.
- Genetic mapping.
What does RFLEP, involved in DNA fingerprinting stand for?
Restriction fragment length polymorphism.
What are the 6 steps of restriction fragment length polymorphism?
- Extract DNA.
- Digest with a convenient restriction enzyme.
- Separate fragments on agarose gels.
- Southern Blot using microsatellite sequences as a probe.
- Observe characteristic bands.
- Do this for a number of micro satellite sequences.
What is used nowadays instead of DNA fingerprinting?
PCR with AFLP.
On the DNA fingerprint southern blot what will also be present on the southern blot?
Bands from other parts of the genome.
What does AFLP stand for?
Amplified Fragment Lengh Polymorphism.
Describe the process of AFLP.
PCR uses primers annealing to conserved sequences on either side of the microsatellite tandem array. These PCR products can then be visualised on an agarose gel.
Each individual has different repeat tracks in their Satellite DNA. Are these tracks still in the same place in the genome?
Yes.
What is the definition of a transposon?
A DNA sequence that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing a mutation and altering the cells genome size. Also known as jumping genes.
What method is used by DNA transposons?
Cut and paste.
What method is used by RNA transposons?
Copy and paste.
Are direct or inverted repeats on the outside of a DNA transposon?
Inverted repeats.
What type of repeat found in a DNA transposon is generated from the host during genome transcription?
Direct repeats.
What type of repeat found in a DNA transposon is part of the transposon and is known as the transposase recognition site?
Inverted.
Transposase is transcribed and translated by the host machinery. Where could the gene have come from?
That particular transposon or one from another transposon elsewhere in the genome.
Where does transposase bind to on the transposon?
The inverted repeats.
What does the transposase do?
Cuts the DNA to remove the transposon and creates staggered cuts at the target site allowing the transposon to be inserted into the new location.
Transposons insert at random. True or false?
False, some do have a preference for a target site.
What is generated at the transposon target site?
Direct repeats, these remain once the transposon has moved again.
What creates he direct repeats at the transposon insertion site?
Host DNA repair enzymes.
How long are the direct repeats generated when the transposon moves?
5bp.
What increases the copy number of transposons?
Transposition at S phase.
The number of transposons builds up over evolutionary time. How many transposons are in the human genome currently?
300,000.
What percentage of the human genome is made up of transposons?
3%.
Where are Ac / Ds transposons found?
Maize.
Are Ac or Ds transposons autonomous?
Ac.
What is the same in Ac and Ds transposons found in maize?
The inverted repeats they contain.
The Ds transposon is nonautonomous. Where does it get its transposase from?
Ac.
Are long terminal repeats linked to Retrosposons or DNA transposons?
Retrotransposons.
Retrotransposons contain LTR and target site direct repeats. Which are found on the outside?
LTRs.
How many base pairs are LTRs made of?
200-600bp.
When are the target site direct repeats, found in DNA transposons generated?
Upon integration.
What two genes make up a retroposon?
gag and pol.
What three proteins are encode for by pol?
- Reverse transcriptase.
- RNase H.
- Intergrase.
Reverse transcriptase, RNase H and Intergrase are encoded for by Pol found in reterosposons. What are these genes all important for?
Reverse transcription.
What is the role of RNase H in reverse transcription?
Degrades the RNA template.
How does a reterosposon integrate?
- Generation of a RNA molecule using hot machinery.
- Reverse transcription using the reterosposon to generate a double stranded DNA molecule.
- Intergrase bound to the LTR allows transport into the nucleus.
- Insertion into the genome, also causing direct repeats to be created.
What are LTR retrosposon closely related to?
RNA viruses.
What RNA virus gene has been lost and what other gene will probably be lost in LTR retrosposon?
Env has already been lost and gag will probably be too.
What is an example of a LTR reterosposon that is found in mammals?
ERV - Endogenous retrovirus.
What is an example of LTR reterosposon found in yeast?
TY elements.
How many copies of the LTR reterosposon are found in the haploid yeast genome?
35.
How much of the human genome does the LTR reterosposon make up?
8%.
What can happen to the ERV retrosposon found in mammals?
All of the transposon apart from the LTRs can be lost though homologues recombination between two LTRs.
What are Non LTR retrotransposons also called?
Long Interspaced Elements (LINEs)
How long LINES?
6kb.
Do LINES or LTRS contain the pol and gag genes?
LTRs.
Do LINES or LTRS contain the ORF1 and ORF2 genes?
LINEs.
What are LINEs, SINEs and LTRs example of?
Reterosposons.
What is found between the target site and the protein coding genes in LINEs?
AT rich regions.
What does ORF1 encode in LINEs?
RNA binding protein.
What does ORF2 encode in LINEs
RT and DNA endonuclease.
Lines L1, L2 and L3 are all found in the human genome. Which is still functional?
L1.
What percentage of the human genome are made of LINEs?
21%.
What is the mechanism for LINEs?
- Transposon is transcribed and polyadenyalted.
- ORF1 protein binds LINE RNA while the ORF2 protein binds RNA poly(A). This occurs in the cytoplasm.
- RNA is transported into the nucleus.
- ORF2/Poly(A) binds to complementary poly(T) sequence in the genome.
- Endonuclease activity of ORF2 nicks both strands.
- ORF2 RT activity is primed by host DNA sequence.
What transposon needs to be polyadenylated?
LINEs.
Full length LINEs are theoretically 6kb, however they are often only 900bp in length. Why is this?
RT often doesn’t reach the end of the transcript.
Are direct repeats generated with LINEs?
Yes.
What are two examples of Non LTR-reterotransposons?
SINEs and LINEs.
What does SINEs stand for?
Short interspaced elements.
Are LINEs or SINEs nonautonoumous and require the transposonse from the other?
SINEs.
What do SINEs contain which allows them to bind to ORF1 and ORF2?
AT rich sequences.
What transposable element is common in primate genomes?
Alu.
What is the most common transposable element found in the human genome with more than a million copies?
Alu.