Investigating diversity

Question 1

4 methods of comparing diversity

Answer 1

Compare observable characteristics
Compare DNA base sequences
Compare mRNA base sequence
Compare amino acid sequence

Question 2

Why is comparison of observable characteristics not ideal

Answer 2

Environmental factors can influence characteristics of an individual eg diet
Lot of characteristics are coded for by multiple genes - polygenic

Question 3

How does comparison of DNA base sequences work

Answer 3

Nucleotide bases are tagged with fluorescent dyes, producing a series of coloured bands on a computer
Closely related species will show similar DNA base sequences

Question 4

How does comparison of mRNA base sequences work

Answer 4

mRNA is complementary to strand of DNA it is made from. Genetic diversity can be measure via this.

Question 5

Comparison of amino acid sequences, how does it work

Answer 5

DNA determines RNA determines amino acid sequence. Degree of sequence similarity can determine how closely related they are.