Genomic Sequencing Flashcards
What is genomics the study of?
The study of the genomes - all the genetic information in an organism.
What is genomic sequencing?
Determining the sequence of nucleotide bases for individual genes and entire genomes.
What are some reasons for genomic sequencing?
- accurate diagnosis of a disease or virus
- creating specific pesticides for specific species
- model organisms that are used for research.
What is bioinformatics?
The use of computer and statistical analysis to identify and compare sequence data.
What is highly conserved DNA?
A DNA sequence is identical/similar across many different organisms.
How can conserved DNA help you compare the genome of species?
The greater the number of shared conserved sequences, the closer related the species are.
What is phylogenetics?
The study of the evolutionary relatedness of a species.
What are phylogenetics trees?
They show how organisms are thought to have evolved over time - with the top of the tree being the most recent.
What is a lineage?
The sequence of species that have evolved from ancestor population.
What is sequence divergence?
When lineages diverged from a common ancestor.
What is an ancestor?
A species from which other species have descended.
What do you need to form phylogenetic trees?
- DNA sequence data
- Fossil records
What are the three domains of life?
- Bacteria
- Archaea
- Eukaryotes
What is a molecular clock?
Used to estimate when species diverged using the number of mutations that accumulate - assuming a constant mutation rate.
What are the limitations of molecular clocks?
It is used on the assumption of a constant rate of mutation, however, this may not be the case, lowering the accuracy of the calculations.
