investigating diversity Flashcards
define selection
when better adapted species survive and reproduce
define genetic diversity
number of different alleles of genes in a population
define evolution
change in frequency of alleles over many generations in a population
define population
groups of individuals of same species that live in same place and interbreed
directional selection
selection favours individuals with extreme features
stabilising selection
selection favours individuals with modal trait
give 4 ways of investigating genetic diversity
DNA base sequence
mRNA base sequence
amino acid sequence
observable characteristics
what can you conclude about genetic diversity when comparing DNA base sequences
the closer the DNA base sequences are between two groups, the more closely related they are
key thing to remember when analysing mitochondrial DNA
zygote only contains the mitochondria of the egg and none from the sperm- only maternal mitochondrial DNA present in a zygote
There is no crossing over that occurs in mtDNA so the base sequence can only change by mutation
why is only maternal mitochondrial DNA present in a zygote
zygote only contains the mitochondria of the egg and none from the sperm- only maternal mitochondrial DNA present in a zygote
why is mRNA analysis easier than DNA analysis
mRNA is easier to isolate from cells as it is found in the cytoplasm
whereas DNA in the nucleus so it is harder to isolate
how does mRNA analysis work
mRNA is collected and used as template to make cDNA (complementary DNA)
this cDNA is complementary to the mRNA template
the cDNA is copied, complementary strand made which is then the same as the mRNA template strand
cDNA only contains exons, no introns
give the difference between cDNA and original DNA in the nucleus
cDNA has no introns, only exons
DNA has introns and exons
describe how amino acid sequence is analysed
one protein is selected e.g haemoglobin
the amino acid sequence of this protein is compared between organisms to see if they match
why is it likely that closely related species will have same amino acid sequence
as amino acid sequence of proteins evolves more slowly than DNA