Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Biology > Genetics and Evolution > Flashcards

Genetics and Evolution Flashcards

1
Q

What are genes?

A

DNA sequences that code for heritable traits that can be passed from one generation to the next

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is a locus?

A

the location of the gene on a specific chromosome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a dominant allele?

A

only one copy of an allele needed to express a given phenotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is a recessive allele?

A

if two copies of an allele are needed to express a given phenotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is complete dominance?

A

when only one dominant and one recessive allele exist for a given gene

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is codominance?

A

when more than one dominant allele exists for a given gene

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is incomplete dominance?

A

occurs when a heterozygote expresses a phenotype that is intermediate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is pentrance?

A

a population measure defined as the proportion of individuals in the population carrying the allele who actually express the phenotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is expressivity?

A

defined as varying phenotypes despite identical genotypes; constant would mean that all individuals with a given genotype express the same phenotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is Mendel’s First Law of Segregation?

A

Genes exist in alternative forms (alleles) and each organism gets two alleles from each parent. The two alleles segregate during meiosis and that if the alleles are different, one will be silenced.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is Mendel’s Second Law of Independent Assortment?

A

states that the inheritance of one gene does not affect the inheritance of another gene because of recombination

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is a gene pool?

A

all of the alleles that exist within a species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What are wild-type alleles?

A

alleles are considered “normal” or “natural” and are ubiquitous in the study population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are mutagens?

A

substances that cause mutations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is a mutation?

A

a change in DNA sequence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a transposon?

A

elements that can insert and remove themselves from the genome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are point mutations?

A

occur when one nucleotide in DNA (A,C,T,G) is swapped for another; silent, missense, nonsense

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is a silent mutation?

A

occur when the change in nucleotide has no effect on the final protein synthesized from the gene; most common from the wobble position

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is a missense mutation?

A

occur when the change in nucleotide results in substituting one amino acid for another in the final protein

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is nonsense mutation?

A

occur when the change in nucleotide results in substituting a stop codon for an amino acid in the final protein

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is a frameshift mutation?

A

occur when nucleotides are inserted into or deleted from the genome
-insertion or deletion mutations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What are chromosomal mutations?

A

larger-scale mutations in which large segments of DNA are affected

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is a deletion mutation?

A

occur when a large segment of DNA is lost from a chromosome; small deletion are considered frameshift mutations as described previously

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is a duplication mutation?

A

occur when a segment of DNA is copied multiple times in the genome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What is an inversion mutation?
occur when a segment of DNA is reversed within a chromosome
26
What is an insertion mutation?
occur when a segment of DNA is moved from one chromosome to another; small insertion mutations are frameshifts
27
What is translocation mutation?
occur when a segment of DNA from one chromosome is swapped with a segment of DNA from another chromosome
28
What are advantageous mutations?
conferring a positive selective advantage that may allow the organism to produce filter offspring
29
What are inborn errors of metabolism?
an important class of mutations that caused defects in genes required for metabolism
30
What is genetic leakage?
flow of genes between species when two similar species mate and produce a hybrid
31
What is genetic drift?
to changes in the composition of the gene pool due to chance; more pronounced in small populations
32
What is the founder effect?
is a more extreme case of genetic drift in which a small population of a species finds itself in reproductive isolation from other populations as a result of natural barriers, catastrophic effects, or other bottlenecks
33
What are bottlenecks?
events that drastically and suddenly reduce the size of the population available for breeding
34
What is inbreeding?
mating between two genetically related individuals - encourages homozygosity
35
What are three ways that reduce genetic diversity?
genetic drift, founder effect, and inbreeding
36
What is inbreeding depression?
the loss of genetic variation may cause reduced fitness of the population
37
What is outbreeding/outcrossing?
the introduction of unrelated individuals into a breeding group; could increase fitness of the population
38
What is the biometric techniques?
quantitative approaches to biological data
39
What is monohybrid?
when only one trait is being studied in a cross (Punnett square)
40
What are the offspring of a cross called?
F generation or filial
41
What is a test cross?
used to determine an unknown genotype; an organism with an unknown genotype is crossed with an organism known to homozygous recessive aka "back crosses"
42
What is a dihybrid cross?
when two traits are being studied in a cross (Punnett square)
43
What is recombination frequency?
what the likelihood that two alleles are separated from each other during crossing other and is roughly proportional to the distance between the genes on the chromosome
44
What is a genetic map?
a map of the relative distance/positions of genes on a chromosome based on recombination frequencies
45
What is allele frequency?
how often an allele appears in a population
46
What are the criteria for Hardy-Weinberg equilibirum?
(1) The population is very large (no genetic drift) (2) There are no mutations that affect the gene pool (3) Mating between individuals in the population is random (no sexual selection) (4) There is no migration of individuals into or out of the population (5) The genes in the population are all equally successful at being reproduced
47
What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation?
p + q = 1 (frequency of alleles in the population) | p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1 (frequency of genotypes and phenotypes in the population)
48
What is natural selection?
the theory that certain characteristics or traits possessed by individuals within a species may help those individuals have greater reproductive success and pass those traits on
49
What is fitness?
level of reproductive success
50
What is the modern synthesis model?
updated version of Darwins; when mutation or recombination results in a change that is favorable to organism's reproductive success
51
What is differential reproduction?
over time, traits that are favorable are passed down and become ubiquitous in the gene pool
52
What is inclusive fitness?
a measure of an organism's success in the population, based on the number of offspring, success in supporting offspring and ability of the offspring to support others
53
What is punctuated equilibrium?
little evolution would occur within a lineage of related lifeforms for long periods of time, followed by an explosion of evolutionary change; supported by research
54
What is stabilizing selection?
keeps phenotypes within a specific range by selecting against extremes
55
What is directional selection?
pushes phenotypes to one end of the extreme spectrum
56
What is disruptive selection?
two extreme phenotypes are selected over the norm
57
What are polymorphisms?
naturally occurring differences in form between members of the same population
58
What is adaptive radiation?
rapid rise in the number of different species from a common ancestor
59
What is a niche?
a specific environment for which a species is specifically adapted to
60
What is a species?
the largest group of organisms capable of breeding to form fertile offspring
61
What is speciation?
the formation of new species through evolution
62
What is isolation?
the progeny of two populations are no longer able to interbreed (so new species) due to changes over time
63
What are prezygotic mechanisms?
prevent formation of zygote completely; breeding at different times, ecological isolation, behavioral isolation, differences in reproductive anatomy or fertilization can't occur
64
What are postzygotic mechanisms?
allow for gamete fusion but yield either nonviable or sterile offspring; formation of a hybrid that cannot be brought to term, sterile offspring, hybrid breakdown (sec gen can't breed)
65
What is divergent evolution?
when lineages that share a common ancestor start to development different characteristics
66
What is parallel evolution?
related species evolve in similar ways for a long period of time in response to analogous environmental selection pressures
67
What is convergent evolution?
when two lineages that do not share a common ancestor start to develop the same characteristics due to similar adaptive pressures
68
What is the molecular clock model?
correlating the degree of genetic similarity with the amount of time since two species split off from the same common ancestor

Biology (15 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions