FINAL Unit 2.5 Flashcards
What is a point mutation?
a different nucleotide is substituted
What is a polymorphism?
common genetic difference in a population
What is a single nucleotide polymorphism?
difference between two sequences at a single nucleotide position in DNA sequence
result of point mutation that occured in past and increased its frequency
What are the consequences of point mutations?
- synonymous (silent): does not change amino acid (redundant, wobble)
- nonsynonymous (missense): causes amino acid replacement
- nonsense: creates stop codon that terminates translation. truncated polypeptides are almost always nonfunctional and quickly destroyed (eukaryotes can destroy mRNA with these codons)
What is a frameshift mutation?
inserting/deleting one or more nucleotides that changes the sequence of codons
What are the consequences of frameshift mutations?
mutant does not fold properly into its tertiary structure and is therefore nonfunctional
Predict the effects of mutations in coding vs. noncoding regions of the genome and when a mutation is inherited.
- mutation in 5’ UTR of mRNA could affect translation because it is where RBS is
- frameshift mutations have no affect in noncoding DNA
- majority of DNA in genome doesn’t code for a protein, most sequences in noncoding DNA have no known function which explains why many point mutations in noncoding DNA have no detectable effect on the organism
What is CRISPR?
clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (gene editing)
describes the organization of viral DNA segments in bacterial genome
What happens when a bacterium is infected by a virus for the first time?
- it makes a copy of part of the viral genome
- on subsequent infection by the same virus, DNA copy of viral genome is transcribed to RNA that combines with protein that has DNA-cleaving function
- RNA is guide to identify target DNA in virus by complementary base pairing and the protein cleaves the target DMA, ending the viral threat
- bacteria remember and defend themselves from past infections
What is the role of CRISPR and nuclease Cas 9 in bacterial defence against viruses?
- CRISPR arrays have pieces of viral genomes inserted into bacterial DNA
- in CRISPT arrays, spacer virus sequences are separated by identical ‘repeat’ sequences
- CRISPR RNA sequences bind to an enzyme called Cas9, transcribing CRISPR sequences produces RNA sequences (crRNA)
- bacteria is ready to defend itself from new virus: CRISPR-Cas9 complex uses crRNA to find a sequence math in virus genome and Cas9 opens DNA and cuts virus genome
What is required for CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing?
- guide RNA: engineered to be complementary to target DNA
- Cas9: a gene for Cas9 cleaves DNA when it associates with guide RNA
- DNA that acts as template: piece with desired new sequence for target DNA
they all contain target DNA for sequence wanted to be edited
Describe the process of CRISPR genome editing.
overall: target DNA identified by guide RNA, cleaved by Cas9, and replaced with sequence of template DNA
- transform cell with plasmid that contains sequences that code for CRISPR guide RNA and Cas9
- guide RNA undergoes base pairing with target DNA
- Cas9 cleaves target DNA
- exonucleases in cell expand gap, gap is repaired using new template DNA for editing target DNA
- strands of gapped target DNA undergo base pairing with complementary ends of editing template
- DNA synthesis elongates target DNA strands and closes gap
result: target DNA restored, but sequence is altered according to editing template
What is transcriptional regulation?
- how frequently a gene is transcribed
- changes how easy it is to recruit RNA POL to promoter
What is translational regulation?
- how frequently mRNA is translated
- change rate mRNA is degraded
- change rate of translation by ribosomes
What is post-translational regulation?
- how frequently a protein functions
- changes protein shape by binding activator/inhibitor
- changes protein shape by chemical modification
- change rate protein is degraded
What is a constitutively expressed gene?
gene that is expressed all the time because its gene product is needed all the time (ie. rRNA, tRNA, RNA POL, ribosomal proteins, amino acyl tRNA synthetase)
What is an environmentally-regulated gene?
gene whose expression level is linked to a condition in the environment such as nutrient availability (ie. mal and lac operons)
What is a developmentally-regulated gene?
expressed only at specific developmental periods of an organism
What is basal level?
low amount of transcription
What is the regulation of gene expression critical for?
efficient use of resources and therefore, survival
How do prokaryotes regulate genes?
in clusters called operons
What is an operon?
set of coding sequences for related proteins all sharing the same promoter and terminator, and contains an operator
What is an operator?
region of DNA where regulatory proteins bind, sometimes overlaps with promoter
What does the transcription of an operon result in?
one long mRNA encoding multiple proteins called polycistronic mRNA
- each section of mRNA encoding one polypeptide must have an upstream RBS
- RNA POL transcribes polycistronic RNA
Contrast transcription of operon with transcription in eukaryotes.
eukaryotes: one gene encodes one pre-mRNA
- each mRNA encoding one polypeptide has 5’ cap/5’ UTR for ribosome binding
- promoter controls gene expression by binding transcription factors
- each gene has its own promoter
- RNA POL transcribes monocistronic mRNA
Compare the general mechanisms of positive and negative regulation.
positive:
- activator protein binds
- RNA POL binds
- transcription occurs
negative:
- repressor protein binds
- no RNA POL binds
- no transcription occurs
What does derepressed mean?
if the repressor isn’t present in negative transcriptional regulation, native state of DNA allows RNA POL to be recruited and transcription occurs
What is a weak promoter?
if gene has an activator, its promoter must not strongly recruit RNA POL on its own
What is a strong promoter?
gene with repressor can recruit RNA POL without help
What is an inducer?
small molecule that interacts with repressor and prevents it from biding DNA and blocking transcription (ie. lactose and maltose), triggers operon expression