Section 3- Genetics Flashcards
What are alleles
Different versions of the same gene. All genes exist in different versions
How are alleles represented in genetic diagrams
With letters
Homozygous allele
2 alleles for a gene that are the SAME
Heterozygous allele
2 alleles for a gene that are DIFFERENT
Dominant alleles
- shown with a capital letter
- overrule recessive alleles
- To display dominant allele, organism can have either 2 dominant alleles or 1 dominant and 1 recessive
Recessive alleles
- shown by a small letter
- if an organism has 1 dominant allele and 1 recessive, then the dominant allele would determine what characteristics the organism has
- for an organism to display recessive characteristics, both alleles must be recessive
Genotypes
Combination of alleles you have
Phenotype
Physical characteristics
Different combinations of alleles give rise to different phenotypes
Sexual reproduction
- where genetic information from 2 organisms (mother and father) is combined to produce offspring which are genetically different to either parent.
- Father and mother produce gametes, which are reproductive cells that only contain half the number of chromosomes making it haploid. In animal cells these gametes are sperm and egg cells
What happens in sexual reproduction
- At fertilisation, a male gamete fuses with a female gamete to produce a fertilised egg known as a zygote. The zygote then ends up with the full set of chromosomes making it diploid.
- The zygote then undergoes mitosis and develops into an embryo
Differences of meiosis and mitosis
MITOSIS:
- used for growth and repair
- creates diploid cells
- produces 2 genetically identical daughter cells
- one stage of cell division
- occurs in somatic cells
MEIOSIS:
- used for reproduction
- creates 4 non identical haploid sex cells or gametes
- occurs in testes and ovaries
Similarities of mitosis and meiosis
- takes place in the nuclei
- involves cell division
- stages are common
- synthesis of dna
Division 1 of meiosis
- Interphase - before the cell starts to divide it duplicated is DNA so that there is enough for each new cell. One arm of each x shaped chromosome is an exact copy of the other arm,
- Prophase – the membrane around the nucleus breaks down
- The chromosomes lineup in pairs in the centre of the cell this is known as metaphase. One chromosome in each pair came from the father. Any other pair came from the mother.
- The pairs of then pulled apart from the spindle fibres which is known as anaphase. This means that each new cell has one copy of each chromosome.
- Each new cell will have a mixture of the mothers and fathers chromosomes mixing up the genes like this is really important as it creates genetic variation.
Division 2 of meiosis
- The chromosomes line up again in the centre of the cell. The arms of the chromosomes are pulled apart by spindle fibres.
- You get for haploid daughter cells – these are gametes. Each gamete. Only has a single set of chromosomes does gametes are genetically different..
DNA
- DNA is made up of nucleotides
- DNA strands are polymers made up of lots of repeating units called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of one sugar molecules, one phosphate molecules and one base.
- The sugar molecules and phosphate molecule in the nucleotides form together to form a ‘backbone’ to the DNA strand. The phosphate and sugar molecules alternate.
- One of the 4 different bases join to each sugar, these are the bases:
- A- Adenine, T- thymine, C- cytosine, G- Guanine
- A DNA molecule has 2 strands coiled together in the shape of a double helix which is a double stranded spiral.
Complimentary base pairs
- Adenine
- Thymine
- Cytosine
- Guanine
1. Each base links to a base on the opposite strand in the helix
2. The complimentary base pairs are joined together by weak hydrogen bonds
How is DNA stored
DNA is stored as chromosomes and contains genes
What are chromosomes
Chromosomes are long, coiled up molecules of DNA. They’re found in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.c