SB3 - Genetics ✓ Flashcards
SB3a - What is the difference asexual and sexual reproduciton?
- Sexual reproduction involves fertilisation of a female gamete by a male gamete (two organisms)
- Asexual reproduction only requires one parent anf the offspring is genetically identical to their parent
SB3a - How may a plant such as a strawberry reproduce asexually?
- By using specail stems called runners which grow out from the root of the plant.
- These can also provide water and nutrients to the duaghter plant until it is well develpoed.
SB3a - What are the advantages and disadvantages of sexual reproduction?
Pros:
- Creates variation meaning that a species is more likely to survive a disaster.
- It also allows them to move to different envirnoments
Cons:
- Time consuming from fertilisation to birth
SB3a - What are the advantages and disadvantages for asexual reproduction?
Pros:
- Very quick and takes up very little energy
- No need to find a mate
Cons:
- No variation meaning that if they are vulnerable to a disease there is a high risk of extinciton
SB3b - What is the term for a fertilised egg before and after cell division starts to occurs?
- Before: A zygote
- After: An embryo
SB3b - What makes gametes different to regular body cells?
They are haploid rather than diploid meaning that they contain 1 set of 23 chromosones.
SB3b - Use the words genome, DNA, polymer, chromosones to define each other.
- DNA is a molecule containing instructions for an organism. The DNA of an organism is its genome.
- The human genome is made of many molecules each containing a chromosone.
- DNA is used to code for and create protiens which are polymers.
SB3b - What process is used for division of gamete cells, and how does this differ from mitosis?
Meiosis:
- The gamete ‘making’ cell is diploid.
- Once it has divided in the smae way as it would in mitosis, it divides once more without replicating the DNA producing haploid daughter cells.
SB3c - Describe the structure of DNA.
- A double helix structure with neucloetides.
- Each nucleuotide contains a phosphate group and a sugar.
- This forms a sugar phosphate backbone.
- They also have bases which are complimentary and joined together by hydrogen bonds.
- The bases are adenine guanine thymine and cytonsine with A being complimentary to T and C being complimentary to G.
- The DNA forms a polymer because it is many nuceuotides joined together.
SB3c - Describe the hydrogen bonding between Adenine/Thymine and Guanine/Cytosine?
- A/T form two hydrogen bonds while C/G form three hydrogen bonds.
- This explains why each of them have pairs and A can’t bond with C for .
SB3c - What is a gene and why do genes differ between people?
- The order of bases form a gene.
- Everyone has a slightly different order of bases (except identical twins) meaning that they all have different genesd.
- Since DNA and genes are passed down along family, this information can be used to find out if people are related.
SB3c - What are starch, protiens and cellulose polymers of?
- P: Polymer of amino acids
- S: Polymer of glucose
- C: Polymer of glucose
SB3c - Describe the lab extraction of a precipitate of peas DNA.
- Thoroughly mash up some peas
- Make a solution of salt water and detergent without making it soapy
- The detergent will break down the cell surface membranes and membranes around the nucleus
- Mix the mash into the solution
- Place the beaker containing this mixture in a water bath at 60 degrees for 15 minutes
- Pour some of the filtrate into a boiling tube and add two drops of the protease enzyme (to break down proteins)
- Tilt the tube slightly and let some ice cold ethanol run down the side of the tube slowly
- Leave for a few minutes. The ethanol will cause the DNA to precipitate
SB3d - Describe the process of transcription.
- Transcription is the first stage of protien synthesis in which RNA is created inside the nucleus
- RNA polymerase attaches to the non-coding binding site of the DNA
- This causes the strands of DNA to unzip. One strand acts as a template.
- Complemantary neucleotides attach to the template strand EXCEPT Instead of T attaching to A, Uracil attaches to A
- The nucleotides join up to form a polymer of mRNA (RNA Polymerase)
- The mRNA leaves the nucleus through nuclear pores
SB3d - Descibe the process of translation.
- Translation is the second stage of protien synthesis and follows transcription
- The mRNA attaches to ribocomes in the cytoplasm
- The ribosome moves along the mRNA three bases at a time (a triplet of bases is called a codon)
- At each codon, a complemantary tRNA molecule (that codes for a specific amino acid joins opposite to it.
- Eventually, all the amino acids join up to from a polypeptide chain
- This chain will then fold up to form a protein
SB3e - Describe how different bases create different protiens.
- A triplet of bases forms a codon.
- Each codon codes for a different amino acid.
- Different orders and collections of amino acids will form different protiens
SB3e - What is a mutation and what are the two types of causes for this?
- A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases in a gene.
- This can be caused by DNA not being copied properly or by enviromental factors (such as radiation)
SB3e - Where along a strand of DNA would a mutation be most harmful?
- In the non-coding site.
- This is becuase this site decides when protiens and processes should/should not take place.
- A mutation in this could lead to repeated rapid mitosis leading to a cancerous tumor, or a lack of a required protien.
SB3f - Describe’s mendel’s observation and conclusion through his experiment about characteristics of tall and short plants.
After breeding tall and short plants together, he noticed that:
- In the first generation of offspring, all the plants were tall
- Despite having both tall parent plants, the second generation of offspring contained some plants that were short
- This meant that characteristics inherited by offspring are not just a blend of parent’s characteristics
- Also that there were ‘factors’ (now know as alleles) which affect this outcome and that one was dominant over the other
SB3g - What is the difference between heterozygous and homozygous.
- Homozygous: Both the allelles are the same
- Heterozygous: Both the alleles are different
SB3g - How is an allele chosen to be visible in the phenotype?
- There aredominant alleles (represented by capital letters) and recessive alleles.
- In any heterozygous case, the dominant allele will be visible in the phenotype.
- The only way a recessive allele can be visibel is if both alleles present are recessive.
SB3h - What diagram can be used to determine the chance of inheriting a certain characteristics?
Punnet squares.
SB3h - Explain how the chance of have a boy or girl baby is equal.
- Females have XX chromosones;
- Males have XY chromosones.
- The mother has XX and the father has XY.
- The means that if you draw a punnet square:
X Y
X XX XY
X XX XY
- Thus the chances are 50/50
SB3i - Define coodominance, using blood as an example.
- A pair of alleles inherited that are both dominant alleles.
- For example, your blood group can be A, B, o or AB. in this case, o is recessive while A and B are both dominant and so if the AB alleles are inherited, they will both be present in the phenotype giving you AB blood type.
SB3i - How is a Y chromosone different to an X?
A Y chromosone is missing regions that are present on an X chromosone.
SB3i - Explain why a male is more likely to inherit certain genetic disorders.
Since males have a Y chromosone which is missing regions, if a recessive allele is present in the X chromosone, but that area isn’t present in the Y chromosone, then the male will get the disease without having to have two recessive alleles.
SB3i - Why is a son guarenteed to inherit a recessive sex-linked genetic disorder if his mother has it?
- If it is sex-linked, that area isn’t present on the Y chromosone (which he’d inherit from his father) and so only the mother’s genes matter.
- Thus if it is a recessive disorder, the mother must have two of this and is guarenteed to pass this on to her son
- Meaning her son will inherit the recessive allele and won’t be able to inherit a dominant allele to counter it.
SB3j - What was the human genome project and did this: 1) reveal about the similarities in genes between peopl 2) do to help reduce risk of disorders 3) Help in treatment of diseases
- The human genome project was a project that was carried out to try to map and identify all of the genes in a human.
- Surprisingly, it revealed that despte all the visible variations, human all share around 99% of the same genes.
- This was incredibly useful as it could be sued to identify genes that increase risk of cancer and other diseases/disorders.
- It also shows which medication a person woul not be able to take making treatment more efficient and effective.
SB3j - What is variation?
The differences in the characteristics of a population.
SB3j - Name the two types of factor affecting variation giving examples of a factor and its variation.
- Environmental factors: Effects from your surroundings. e.g. water and light content will affect plant growth
- Genetic factors: Effects from your alleles and mutations. e.g, natural hair colour is based off the alleles you inherit form your parents
SB3j - Explain how variaiton in height is both envionmental and genetic.
- Your capacity to grow is based off the alleles you inherit form your parents and increase the chance of you being tall/short.
- However your diet will alaos affect your growth and so it is affected by genetic and environmental factors.
SB3j - What is the difference between discontinuous and continuous variation?
- Discontinuous variation is variation in something that has a limited amount of possible values (e.g. number of leaves)
- Continuous variation is variation in something that has possible values that could be measured to an infinite degree of accuracy (e.g leaf length)
SB3j - If you plot the frequency of a variable with continuous variation in a species on a graph, what will it look like?
- It will be a normal distribution (bell-shaped) curve.
- The most common value is in the middle of the whole range and the further away from this, the fewer individuals have this value.
