Exam 1 Flashcards
(240 cards)
Genes are the basic units of
heredity
What is heredity?
how genes transmit traits from parents to offspring
What is the study of biological information?
how organisms store, replicate, transmit, and utilize information that allows survival and reproduction
DNA –>
RNA –> Protein
__ was the first applied genetic technique
artificial selection
What is artificial selection?
the purposeful control of mating by choice of parents for the next generation
What are the crucial questions about selective breeding?
- What is inherited?
- How is it inherited?
- What is the role of chance in heredity?
Who discovered the basic principles of genetics?
Gregor Mendel
What are the four general themes of Mendelian Genetics?
- variation is widespread in nature and provides for continuously evolving diversity
- observable variation is essential for following genes from one generation to another
- variation is inherited by genetic laws, which can explain why like begets like and unlike
- Mendel’s laws apply to all sexually reproducing organisms
What were the keys to the success of Mendel’s experiments?
- pure-breeding lines of peas
- inheritance of alternative (or antagonistic) forms of traits
- experimental technique (controlled breeding)
Mendel performed __ crosses to control whether trait was passed on by sperm or egg
reciprocal
What is a phenotype?
an observable form of a given trait
What is a monohybrid cross?
mating of pure-breeding parental plants antagonistic for a single trait
In a monohybrid cross, both parental traits reappear in F2 progeny in a __ ratio
3:1
Mendel proposed that each plant carries
two copies of a unit of inheritance
Trait that appears in F1 progeny is the
dominant form
Trait that is hidden in the F1 progeny is the
recessive form
What are units of inheritance?
genes
What are alternative forms of a single gene?
alleles
Individuals with two different alleles for a single trait are
heterozygotes
Pure breeding individuals are
homozygotes
What does Mendel’s law of segregation state?
- the two alleles for each trait separate during gamete formation
- two gametes, one from each parent, unite at random at fertilization
What is a gamete?
specialized cells that carry genes between generations (egg/sperm)
What is segregation?
separation of alleles so that each gamete receives only one copy of each gene