Genetic interactions

Question 1

Name the three types of genetic interaction

Answer 1

Reversion
Suppression/Enhancement
Epistasis

Question 2

What is reversion?

Answer 2

Whatever change happened to a gene has been reversed - e.g. whatever happened to make a gene temperature sensitive is reversed

Question 3

Describe the Ames test

Answer 3

The Ames test tests for the mutagenicity of a compound by its ability to revert an auxotrophic mutant bacterial strain. You take a strain that cannot grow in the absence of arginine or something, mutagenise it and then see how much grows. If lots grows then the compound is more mutagenic