Genetics Flashcards
genetics I genetics II genetics III genetics IV genetics V
how did mendel discover the basic principles of heredity
he bread garden peas
what is a heritable feature that varies among individuals called
a character
what are the different variations of a character called
a trait
what are advantages of using peas to study heredity
there are many varieties
they have a short generation time
large number of offspring from each mating
in order to prevent the peas from self pollinating what did mendel do
he removed the stamens before they produced pollen and then extracted the pollen and dusted it onto a carpel of the desired plant he wanted to cross
what is true breeding
organisms that produce offspring of the same variety over many generations of self pollination
e.g. a plant with purple flowers is true breeding if over many generations of self pollination all plants only have purple flowers
what are the true breeding parents referred to as
the P generation
what is the result of breeding 2 true breeding varieties
production of a hybrid
what are the hybrid offspring called
F1 generation
what is produced when two F1s cross pollinate or an F1 self pollinates
F2 generation
what is the law of segregation
mendels first law - 2 alleles in a pair segregate into different gametes during gamete formation
what is the law of independent assortment
mendels second law - each pair of alleles segregates independently of the other pair during gamete formation
alternative versions of genes (alleles account for variations in ……………………..
inherited characteristics
for each character an organism inherits 2 ………….. of a gene, one from each parent
alleles
if the two alleles at a locus differ then one, ………….. allele, determines the organisms appearance and the other, the ………….. allele has no noticeable affect on the organisms appearance
dominant
recessive
the allele for which trait in pea colour is dominant
purple
two ……….. for a gene segregate during gamete formation and end up in a different gamete
alleles
if an organism has identical alleles for a particular character then that allele is present in some/all gametes
all
explain why the purple colour in pea plants is dominant
the allele for purple plant colour instructs the production of n enzyme that helps synthesise purple pigment but the allele for white plant colour results in the production of no enzyme. the presence of one purple allele results in sufficient pigment for purple flowers
homozygotes/heterozygotes are true breeding
homozygotes
given a purple coloured pea plant can we tell if it is homozygous or heterozygous by looking at it
no - because both genotypes Pp and PP give the same phenotype
how would we identify if a purple pea plant is homo/heterozygous
cross it with a white coloured true breeding plant (pp)
- if all the offspring flowers are purple then the purple pea must have been homozygous (PP)
- if both purple and white phenotypes appear in the offspring (Pp and pp) then the purple plant must have been heterozygous (Pp)
what is a testcross
breeding an organisms of unknown genotype with a recessive homozygote
what is a monohybrid
heterozygous for one particular character being followed in the cross (produced by homozygous parents)
what is a monohybrid cross
a cross between 2 organisms that are heterozygous for the character being followed
what is a dihybrid
an organism that is heterozygous with respect to 2 genes of interest (produced by parents that are homozygous for both traits)
what is a dihybrid cross
a cross between 2 organisms that are each heterozygous for both characters being followed
which law are dihybrid experiments the basis for
the law of independent assortment - 2 or more genes assort independently - each pair of alleles segregates independently of any other pair of alleles during gamete formation
the law of independent assortment only applies to genes on the same/different chromosomes
different chromosomes - chromosomes that are not homologous - or alternatively genes that are very far apart on the same chromosome
an event that is certain to occur has a probability of ……….
1
an event that is certain not to occur has a probability of ..……
0
what is complete dominance
when the dominant allele is completely dominant - the heterozygote and the dominant homozygote are indistinguishable
what is incomplete dominance
neither allele is completely dominant - F1 hybrids have a phenotype somewhere between those of the 2 parent varieties
e.g. red flower x white flower = pink flower
what is codominance
the 2 alleles each affect the phenotype in 2 separate distinguishable ways (in a normal heterozygote only one allele would be seen in the phenotype but in codominance both are apparent)
what is pleiotropy
the ability of a single gene to have multiple effects on the phenotype
what is epistasis
a type of gene interaction in which the phenotypic expression of one gene (at one locus) alters that of another independently inherited gene (at a different locus)
what are quantitative characters
vary in populations along gradations along a continuum
what type of inheritance is usually indicated by quantitative characters
polygenic inheritance e.g. height results from polygenic inheritance - over 180 genes that effect height
what is polygenic inheritance
an additive effect of 2 or more genes on a single phenotypic character (converse of pleiotropy where a single gene affects multiple characters but here multiple genes affect one character)
generally, the phenotypic range is broadest for what kind of characters
polygenic
what is a multifactorial character
many factors, both genetic and environmental influence phenotype
what are carriers
people that are heterozygous for a recessive disorder and do not themselves have the disease but they could pass it to their offspring
what happens to people with cystic fibrosis
chloride transport channels are defective or absent and this causes an uptake of water into cells
this makes the mucus that coats certain cells thicker and stickier than normal leading to pleiotropic effects such as chronic bronchitis and recurrent bacterial infections
what is sickle cell disease caused by
substitution of a single amino acid in the haemoglobin of red blood cells
is sickle cell disease dominant or recessive
recessive - because two alleles are required to experience full blown sickle disease
explain why heterozygotes for sickle cell disease experience symptoms
the normal allele is incompletely dominant to the sickle cell allele
what is the advantage of being heterozygous for sickle cell anaemia
reduces severity of malaria attacks especially among young children because it results in lower parasite densities in the blood - this represents heterozygous advantage
a lethal recessive allele is only lethal when ……………
homozygous
a lethal dominant allele can/cannot be passed to future generations
cannot - individual die before they can mature and reproduce
what is amniocentesis
a needle is inserted in to the uterus to collect some amniotic fluid
some genetic disorders can be detected from the presence of certain molecules in the amniotic fluid
the cells can be cultured to obtain sufficient numbers for karyotyping
what is chronic villus sampling
a narrow tube is inserted into the uterus through the cervix and suctions out a small sample of tissue from the placenta
the karyotype can be carried out immediately because the cells are proliferating rapidly enough
apart from amniocentesis and CVS what else can be done to test the DNA of the fetus
blood testing of the mother as it contains the DNA of the fetus
what is PKU
when those with the disease cannot properly metabolize phenylalanine and I can accumulate with its by product in the blood causing mental retardation
if detected early a special diet can be used to prevent this from occurring
how many chromosomes does the fruit fly have
4 pairs - 3 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes