Genetics Flashcards
What is asexual reproduction
This is when only 1 parent forms genetically identical offspring
What is sexual reroduction
This when two parents are needed to produce a genetically different offspring
What are some advantages of asexual reproduction
-this can produce lots of offspring very quicky
-not a lot of energy is required as only one parent is needed
What are some advantages of sexual reproduction
-creates genetic variation in the population
- if the environment changes, it is likely that some of the organisms will have the characteristics to survive
- offspring will be better adapted to survive the environment
What are some disadvantages of asexual reproduction
-there is no genetic variation, so if there is a change in environment, all of them will die
What are some disadvantages of sexual reproduction
- it takes a long time and requires a lot of energy
- two parents are needed
What is DNA made of
It’s made of polymers called nucleotides
How is one strand of nucleotide layed out
Phosphate-Sugar-Base-Base-Sugar-Phosphate
What are the 4 bases and how are they paired up
Adenine-Thymine
Cytosine-Guanine
What are the base pairs joined up by?
Weak hydrogen bonds
What are proteins made of?
Long chains of amino acids
How is the amino acid coded?
They are coded by a sequence of three bases called base triplets
What are the two stages of protein synthesis
Transcription and Translation
What happens in the transcription stage of protein synthesis
- mRNA polymerase enzyme cuts the DNA strand to make it a single strand(mRNA)
- Uracil replaces thymine in this process
- This mRNA will then move out of the nucleus and into the ribosomes
What happens in the translation stage of protein synthesis
- mRNA reaches the ribosomes
- Amino acids are brought to the ribosomes by the tRNA
- The order of the amino acids is determined by the base triplets(codons.) The amino acids are complementary to the codons.
- The amino acids are then joined together to make a protein