MT collection

Question 1

what is the c-value paradox?

Answer 1

eukaryotic genome size does not seem to correlate with an organism’s complexity

Question 2

aromatic amino acids

Answer 2

phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan

Question 3

what is a Pribnow box?

Answer 3

a prokaryotic promoter sequence, acting as a promoter site for transcription

Question 4

tRNA binding sites in the ribosome

Answer 4

A site- initial tRNA binding site, ‘amino-acyl’ site
P site- peptidyl transfer- peptide bond forms’
E site- exit- the newly empty tRNA leaves this site after the ribosome shifts

Question 5

what is a nonsense mutation?

Answer 5

introduction of a premature stop codon

Question 6

what is a missense mutation?

Answer 6

substitution of a different amino acid

Question 7

what is membrane asymmetry?

Answer 7

uneven distribution of lipids within the membrane, created and maintained by flippases

Question 8

Chicxulub meteorite

Answer 8

dinosaur killing one

Question 9

Murchison meteorite

Answer 9

amino acid-containing one

Question 10

important feature of water in cells

Answer 10

universal solvent

Question 11

properties of RNA and how sure we are of them

Answer 11

adaptation/mutation
catalysis
self-replication- no real replicase has been created
sensing the environment
information storage

Question 12

what type of amino acid is found in proteins?

Answer 12

alpha (meaning 1 carbon in the middle of the amine/carboxyl groups), L enantiomer

Question 13

start codon

Answer 13

AUG

Question 14

what type of molecule is dextran?

Answer 14

polysaccharide

Question 15

what type of molecule is trehalose?

Answer 15

disaccharide

Question 16

what kind of interactions lead to enzyme/substrate binding?

Answer 16

noncovalent

Question 17

tinbergen’s 4 questions

Answer 17

Function (or adaption): Why is the animal performing the behaviour?
Evolution (or phylogeny): How did the behaviour evolve?
Causation (or mechanism): What causes the behaviour to be performed?
Development (or ontogeny): How has the behaviour developed during the lifetime of the individual?

Question 18

4 things that can cause changes in gene frequencies

Answer 18

drift
migration
mutation
natural selection

Question 19

Drake’s rule

Answer 19

C. Mutation rate is generally inversely proportional to genome size

Question 20

requirements for sympatric speciation

Answer 20

-largely or fully sympatric species
-reproductive isolation- preferably genetic based
-sympatric taxa must be sister groups, and not undergone hybridization
-an allopatric phase for the species must be very unlikely

Question 21

what do archaeal cell membranes have instead of fatty acids?

Answer 21

phytanyl groups

Question 22

what do archaeal cell walls have instead of peptidoglycan?

Answer 22

pseudomurein

Question 23

mechanisms of prokaryotic gene transfer

Answer 23

transformation- uptake of DNA from the environment, cell needs to be competent for this to occur
transduction- by a phage, can be generalised (random) or specialised (a mechanism of phage action)
conjugation- between bacteria through HGT

Question 24

what does the start codon code for in bacteria/mitochondria/plastids?

Answer 24

fMet

Question 25

what are buchnera?

Answer 25

obligate intracellular endosymbionts of aphids

Question 26

what are Wolbachia?

Answer 26

intracellular endosymbionts of ecdysozoan species, such as arthropods and nematodes

Question 27

what phenotypes do Wolbachia cause?

Answer 27

feminization
parthenogenic elimination of males from reproduction
male killing
cytoplasmic incompatibility
- all of this increases the chance of transmission

Question 28

what is the baltimore classification?

Answer 28

classification system for viruses based on the genome type and replication strategy