Final study guide Flashcards
Natural selection
Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that helped them succeed
Charles Darwin
Visited the Galápagos Islands and collected/studied the species there. He came up with the Theory of Natural Selection: animals with a higher fitness level (ability to survive and reproduce) would pass on the preferred genes for their environment
Galápagos Islands observation
Darwin noticed that each finch species had a different type of beak, depending on the food available on its island. The finches that ate large nuts had strong beaks for breaking the nuts open.
Biogeography
the branch of biology that deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals.
What was Darwin’s opinion on the fossil record
The fossil record has gaps, mostly because the conditions required to create fossils have been rare ever since life began on Earth
Restriction enzymes
Enzyme that cuts DNA at a specific sequence of nucleotides
DNA typing
Definition. DNA typing is a laboratory procedure that detects normal variations in a sample of DNA to discover relationships
What are the applications for DNA sequencing?
Detection of genetic disorders e.g. Sickle Cell Anaemia - gene mutation (one base substituted) or Cystic Fibrosis (one codon deleted)
Human genome project
discover the complete set of human genes and make them accessible for further biological study, and determine the complete sequence of DNA bases in the human genome
Polymerase Chain Reaction
A technique flor copying DNA sequences by heating it up, incubating with special primers, DNA polymerase molecules, and nucleotides.
DNA Ligase
A linking enzyme essential for DNA replication; catalyzes the covalent bonding of the 3’ end of a new DNA fragment to the 5’ end of a growing chain.
Genetic engineering
Process of making changes in the DNA code of living organisms like for corn to produce more of it
gene therapy
The insertion of working copies of a gene into the cells of a person with a genetic disorder in an attempt to correct the disorder as well as to treat an eye disorder called Leber congenital amaurosis and a muscle disorder called spinal muscular atrophy
What are some of the benefits of pharmacogenomics
- Understanding why pt’s with the same disease respond differently to a certain medication
- Minimize Adverse drug reactions
- Help maximize drug efficacy
Transformation
process in which one strain of bacteria is changed by a gene or genes from another strain of bacteria
Transgenic organisms
organisms containing DNA sequences that have been created in vitro and introduced into the genome
Homologous structures
similar physical features in organisms that share a common ancestor, but the features serve completely different functions
Analogous structures
features of different species that are similar in function but not in structure and which do not come from a common ancestor
Half life
the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The
Stabilizing selection
a type of natural selection in which genetic diversity decreases as the population stabilizes on a particular trait value (favors the middle)
Directional selection
individuals with traits on one side of their population survive better or reproduce more than those on the other (favors one side more than the other)
Disruptive selection
form of natural selection occurring in a population where extreme traits are favored over intermediate traits (Favors both ends)
Genetic drift
the change in frequency of an existing gene variant in the population due to random chance. Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation (small community)
Domain
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
Kingdom
plant, fungi, protist and monera
Phylum
taxonomic ranking that comes third in the hierarchy of classification
Class
a taxonomic rank above the order and below the phylum
Order
a taxonomic rank above the Genus and below the class
Genus
a taxonomic rank above species and below order