Sequence Comparison Flashcards
What is the Human Genome Project?
A project that sequenced DNA from many people and brought it all together in one data-base.
What can be used to compare sequences?
Sequences search tools such as BLAST.
How can we compare and spot the similarities between DNA sequences?
By mapping their identities.
How can we compare sequences?
First by comparing their bases and then converting them into amino acids, then into poly peptide chains.
Why would we take the steps taken to compare sequences?
It allows us to see how similar some sequences are and we are able to compare similarities as molecules (protein).
What does it mean for the genetic code to be ‘degenerate’?
There are a possible 64 triplet code combinations, but only 20 amino acids, meaning that some amino acids can be coded by more than one set of triplet codes.
Why can some mutations in the DNA sequence have no affect?
As some substitution mutations can be silent as the new triplet code can still code for the same amino acid (degenerate) and some amino acids can have similar chemical properties, so if substituted in a semi-conserved region, there may be no obvious affect on function.
How can we compare more than two DNA sequences?
Using multiple search alignments such as CLUSTALW.
How do we compare the DNA sequences using search alignments?
In an alignment, we are able to compare sequences and their conserved regions, allowing us to be able to identify which of these conserved regions are critical to function.
How are we able to display evolutionary relationships between DNA sequences?
Using a dendrogram.
