Theme 1a

Question 1

What are genetics?

Answer 1

Study of heredity and variation in cells, individuals, and populations

Question 2

What is a gene

Answer 2

functional unit of heredity and variation

DNA sequence (always DNA) involved in making RNA and proteins

Question 3

What is Molecular genetics

Answer 3

study of the structure and function of genes at the molecular level

Question 4

What is and allele, give examples

Answer 4

variant forms of a gene caused by differences in DNA sequence

(eg. eye colour variations, height )

Question 5

What is a Genotype

Answer 5

genes inherited by an organism, can refer to one gene or many

Question 6

What is a Phenotype:

Answer 6

visible traits (ex. Body plan, behavior, illnesses/disease)

Question 7

What is a genome?

Answer 7

entire DNA sequence (ACGT) that you have

Question 8

What are chromosomes

Answer 8

String of genes

Question 9

Where are genes found

Answer 9

On chromosomes

Question 10

What is gene expression

Answer 10

when gene is expressed it’s “turned on” and produced RNA and protein (coding gene)

Question 11

What is coding RNA

Answer 11

Type of RNA that converts to protein (Ex. MRNA which is the only species that proteins are synthesized from)

Question 12

What is non-coding RNA

Answer 12

RNA not converted to protein (ribosomal RNA, TRNA, SIRNA

Question 13

What is protein expression

Answer 13

Type and abundance of proteins in the cell

Question 14

How do proteins ultimately determine the Phenotype of the cell?

Answer 14

Because they control every reaction in the cell

Question 15

How do enzymes contributes to protein expression?

Answer 15

They catalyze the synthesis and transformation of all bio molecules

Question 16

What do structural proteins do?

Answer 16

Maintain cell shape

Question 17

What do signaling proteins do?

Answer 17

signal the hormones and receptors

Question 18

What causes phenotypic variation?

Answer 18

Different alleles (variation in gene sequence causes changes in amino acid sequence of proteins)
Differential regulation (varied intensity of genes and proteins in each person)

Question 19

What leads to more similar protein expression and phenotypes in people

Answer 19

Having common alleles and gene regulation
Usually between family and relatives

Question 20

Why do we identify and sequence the genes in the genomes?

Answer 20

To understand how the type and abundance of RNA and proteins makes up the phenotype of the organism

Question 21

What else does studying molecular genetics help with?

Answer 21

Human health, forensics, agriculture, environment, evolutionary biology

Question 22

What is the smooth strain?

Answer 22

Bacterium that is surrounded by poly saccharide capsule, the capsule around the bacterium shields it from immune system (this causes virulence and allows infection)

Question 23

What is rough strain?

Answer 23

doesn’t have the polysaccharide capsule, so it’s harmlesss and non virulent

Question 24

What what the Griffith experiment?

Answer 24

Took a strain, gave to mouse, mouse died

Took r strain, gave to mouse, mouse lives

Killed s strain through heat, gave to mouse, mouse lived

Mixed killed s strain and regular r strain, gave to mouse, mouse died from pneumonia

Question 25

What do Griffith conclude about his experiment?

Answer 25

To molecules released when s cells were killed, transformed the living r cells into the virulent s-cells

Question 26

What was the Avery, Macleod and McCarthy experiment?

Answer 26

Thought the transforming principe could be protein, DNA, or RNA First used heat to kill s-strain and make soup Killed RNA in s strain using RNASE (leaving only protien and DNA), mixed s stain with r strain, still transformed so RNA does not cause transformation Used protease to kill proteins, mixed is with r cells, still transformed so proteins do not change the cells used DNAse to destroy DNA, mixed with r cell, no transform, meaning DNA changed the cells (is the transformation molecule

Question 27

What is the lytic cycle?

Answer 27

The process where a bacteriophage injects it’s DNA into the E. coli cell The injected DNA becomes circular then replicates its DNA, RNA, proteins. This degrades the bacterial chromosome The newly generated parts assemble to become multiple viral particals that burst out the cell (destroying it) to infect other cells

Question 28

What is the lysogenic cycle

Answer 28

The bacteriophage inserted it DNA into cell, this DNA inserts into bacterial chromosome through recombination The prophage replicates but the viral genes are inactive The programs is inherited in daughter cells, it is inactive now but can become excised from bacterial chromosome and go into lyctic cycle

Question 29

What was the Hershey and chase experiment?

Answer 29

They wanted to see if the bacteriophage injected DNA or protien into e.coli cell So they label two bacteriophages DNA and proteins with 32P and 35S allows both bacteriophages to infect cell Used blender to separate bacteriophage from cell checked if there was 32P or 35S in bacteriophages There was no 32P in the detached bacteriophages meaning the DNA was inserted into the cell, not protein