Lecture 1 Flashcards
Genetics
Study of genes, heredity, and genetic variation in living organisms
Molecular Genetics
Field of biology that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level
How does a normal cell become a cancer cell?
When an oncogene mutates and becomes inappropriately activated
Genome
Complete set of genetic instructions for any organism; can be either RNA or DNA; coding system for genomic information is very similar among organisms
Luxturna
Genetically modified virus that ferries a healthy gene into the eyes of patients born with retinal dystrophy
Transmission Genetics
Classical genetics, how traits are passed from one generation to the next
Molecular Genetics
Gene structure, function, and regulation
Population Genetics
Study of the genetic composition of groups and how gene frequency changes geographically or with time - essentially the study of evolution
Model Genetic Organisms
Organisms with characteristics that make them useful for genetic analysis; only valuable because of the basic similarity among all living organisms
Common Characteristics of Model Organisms
Short generation time, production of numerous progeny, ability to carry out controlled genetic crosses, ability to be reared in a laboratory environment, availability of numerous genetic variants, accumulated knowledge about their genetic systems
Hox Gene Family
Homeobox sequence has remained mostly unchanged, so these genes appear to play a vital role in the general organization of the body in almost all animals
C. Elegans
First multicellular organism to have its whole genome sequenced, published in 1998
Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Model genetic organism that has been instrumental to identify genes encoding pigmentation differences among humans
Preformationists
Believed that sperm or eggs contained fully formed humans; difficult to know if the tiny person was inside the sperm or egg and how the next generation got there; perhaps an infinite series of nesting dolls
Blending Inheritance
Inherited traits are determined from a range bound by the traits found in the parents; Example: height of a person with one short and one tall parent, was thought to always be of some interim value between the 2
Lamarckianism
If an organism changes during life in order to adapt to its environment, those changes are passed on to its offspring; Example: Lamarck believed that when giraffes stretched their necks to reach food, their necks grew incrementally and the resulting trait was passed to their offspring
Pangenesis
Thought that the information needed to specify body parts traveled to the reproductive organs in packets (gemmules) which were packaged into sperm or eggs; packets were then distributed as needed in the resulting embyro
Germ-Plasm Theory
Multicellular organisms produce germ cells that contain and transmit heritable information, and somatic cells which carry out ordinary bodily functions and do not provide hereditary information
Genes
Distinct sequence of nucleotides forming part of a chromosome, a unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring; confer phenotypes and are located on chromosomes
Allele
One of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome
Chromosome
Threadlike structure of nucleic acids and protein found in the nucleus of most living cells. carrying genetic information in the form of genes
Genome
Organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes; each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism
