Inherited change 2 Flashcards
What are homologous chromosomes?
They are a pair of chromosomes in a diploid cell that have the same structure as each other, with the same genes (but not necessarily the same alleles of those genes) at the same loci, and that pair together to form a bivalent during the first division of meiosis
What is a gene?
A length of DNA that codes for a particular protein or polypeptide
What is an allele?
A particular variety of a gene
What is a locus?
The position at which a particular gene is found on a particular chromosome; the same gene is always found at the same locus
What is a genotype?
A genotype is the alleles possessed by an organism
What does homozygous mean?
Having two identical alleles of a gene
What does heterozygous mean?
Having two different alleles of a gene
What is an organism’s phenotype?
It’s characteristics, often resulting from an interaction between its genotype and its environment
What is a dominant allele?
Is one whose effect on the phenotype of a heterozygote is identical to its effect in a homozygote
What is a recessive allele?
One that is only expressed when no dominant allele is present
What are codominant alleles?
Both have an effect on the phenotype of a heterozygous organism
What is the F1 generation?
The F1 generation is the offspring resulting from a cross between an organism with a homozygous dominant genotype, and one with a homozygous recessive genotype
What is the F2 generation?
The offspring resulting from a cross between two F1 (heterozygous) organisms
What is a test cross?
A test cross is a genetic cross in which an organism showing a characteristic caused by a dominant allele is crossed with an organism that is homozygous recessive; the phenotypes of the offspring can be a guide to whether the first organism is homozygous or heterozygous
What is linkage?
Linkage is the presence of two genes on the same chromosome, so that they tend to be inherited together and do not assort independently
What does the nuclei of eukaryotic cells contain?
Chromosomes and that the number of chromosomes is characteristic of the species
What is a karyogram? How are they prepared?
- Definition
- They are prepared by cutting out individual chromosomes from a picture and rearranging them
Describe a karyogram chromosome
- There are 22 matching pairs of chromosomes and these are called homologous chromosomes, each pair is given a number
- In the original zygote one of each pair came from the mother, and one from the father
- There is also a non-matching pair labelled X and Y, there are therefore two sets of 23 chromosomes, and one set of 23 from the father and a set of 23 from the mother
What are the non-matching X and Y chromosomes?
- The non-matching X and Y chromosomes are the sex chromosomes, which detainee the sex of the individual
- All the other chromosomes are called autsomes
- It is conventional to position the two sex chromosomes to one side in a karyogram, so that the sex of the organism can be recognised quickly - In humans, females have two X chromosomes and males have one X and one Y chromosome
- The Y chromosome has protons missing and is therefore smaller than the X chromosome
How can the pairs of chromosomes be distinguished?
-The pairs of chromosomes can be distinguished not only by size and shape, nut because each pair has a distinctive banding pattern when stained with certain stains
What does each chromosome have?
- A characteristic set of genes which code for different features
- Scientists are gradually identifying which genes are located on which chromosome and what their precise functions are e.g. we now know that the gene for the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis is located on chromosome 7
How many gene loci does each chromosome have?
- Each chromosome typically has several hundred to several thousand gene loci
- The total number of different genes in humans is thought to be about 20000-25000
Describe alleles
- Each member of a homologous pair possess genes controlling the same characteristics
- A gene for a given characteristic may exist in different forms (alleles) which are expressed differently
- E.G the gene for eye colour has two forms, or alleles, one coding for blue eyes and one for brown eyes, an individual could possess both alleles, one on the maternal chromosome and the other on the paternal chromosome
What are diploid cells?
- Cells that contain two complete sets of chromosomes
- This is represented as 2n where n=the number of chromosomes in one set of chromosomes
- E.G. normal body cells
What are haploid cells?
- A cell which contains only one complete set of chromosomes
- This is represent as n
- E.G gametes
What is the type of nuclear division for growth?
- When a diploid zygote, which os one cells grows into an adult with millions of cells, the new cells must be genetically identical, with the same number of chromosomes as the cells that divided to produce them
- This type of nuclear division that achieves this is mitosis
What is the type of nuclear division for sexual reproduction?
- For the life cycle to contain sexual reproduction, there must be a point before fertilisation takes place when the number of chromosomes is halved
- This results in the gametes containing only one set of chromosomes, rather than two sets
- If there were no point in the life cycle when the number of chromosomes halved, then the number of chromosomes would double every generation
- The type of nuclear division that halves the chromosome number is called meiosis
- Gametes are always haploid as a result of meiosis
Why is meiosis sometimes described as reduction division?
-The number of chromosomes is reduced
What does meiosis also do rather than just halve the number of chromosomes?
- Introduces genetic variation into the gametes and therefore the zygotes that are produced
- Genetic variation may also arise as a result of mutation, which can occur at any stage in a life cycle
- Such variation is the raw material on which natural selection has worked to produce the huge range of species that live on earth
What is genetic variation?
The occurrence od genetic differences between individuals
What does the Hb stand for and subscript A and S?
- Hb stand for the locus of the haemoglobin gene
- A and S stand for particular alleles of the gene
What are the different haemoglobin genotypes and phenotypes?
- In a human cell which is diploid there are two copies of the beta goblin polypeptide gene and the two copies may be: (with two different alleles, there are three possible genotypes)
1. HbAHbA (homozygous) (all of haemoglobin will be normal) (normal)
2. HbAHbS (heterozygous) (half normal haemoglobin and glad sick cel haemoglobin) (normal but with sickle cell trait)
3. HbSHbS (all of person’s haemoglobin will be sickle cell haemoglobin which is insufficient at transporting oxygen) (sickle cell anaemia)
What is an example of codominance?
- A snap dragon with genotype CRCW has some red colour and somewhat colour, so that the flowers appear pink
- Alleles that behave like this are said to be codominant
What is sickle cell anaemia?
A genetic diseases caused by a faulty gene coding for haemoglobin in which haemoglobin tends to precipitate when oxygen concentrations are low
What is sickle cell trait?
A person who is heterozygous for the sickle cell allele is said to have sickle cell trait; there are normally no symptoms, except occasionally in very severe conditions of oxygen shortage
What is multiple alleles?
- Most genes have more than two alleles
- E.G gene for human blood groups
- The existence of three or more alleles of a gene, as, for example in the determination of A,B,O blood groups