Genetics Flashcards
What is phenotype?
Physical, biochemical and physiologic traits of an individual
Can occur as a result of genetic factors or from a combination of genetic factors and environmental influences
What are chromosomes?
Small bodies in the nucleus of a cell that carry the chemical instructions for reproduction of the cell and cell functions
What are the phases of mitosis
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
What is meiosis?
Two-step cellular division of the original germ cell which reduces the # of chromosomes by half
What is the function of mitosis?
To create an exact replica of each chromosome to pass to each daughter cell
What does diploid mean?
Two pairs of chromosomes
What does haploid mean?
Only one set of chromosomes
Are gametes haploid or diploid?
Haploid
How many chromosomes do mature germ cells contain?
23
What is nondisjunction?
Occasionally, both chromosomes that were crossing over during meiosis do not separate and both migrate to the same cell
How conditions like down’s syndrome occur (extra chromosome)
What is trisomy?
Extra copy of a chromosome present in the cell nuclei causing developmental anomalies
What is trisomy 21?
Down’s syndrome
Trisomy of chromosome 21
What is the Lyon Hypothesis?
During early embryonic development, genetic activity of one of the X chromosomes in each cell of a female embryo is inactivated
Inactivated chromosome forms a structure called a Barr Body
What is a nucleotide?
Basic unit of DNA
What are the 4 bases found in DNA?
Adenine
Guanine
Thiamine
Cytosine
What are the pairings of the 4 bases found in DNA?
Adenine and Thiamine (A/T)
Guanine and Cytosine (G/C)
What is a codon? What does it encode?
Sequence of 3 bases
Encodes amino acids
What do several amino acids form?
Polypeptide
What do several polypeptides form?
Protein