topic 6 Flashcards
what factors affect the rate of decomposition
- temp
- oxygen availability
these speed up enzyme activity
intense heat denatures enzymes involved in autolysis
what happens hours after death
- body temp dec.
- bacteria + enzymes decompose body cells + tissue→ this is called autolysis
- fly eggs present
- rigor mortis (4-6 hours after death)
recall the process of how rigor mortis occurs
-muscles deprived of O2
-anaerobic respiration→ causes a build up of lactic acid
-pH in cells dec.
-enzyme activity inhibited
-no ATP produced
-bonds between myosin and actin break
-muscles become fixed
what occurs days after death
- microorganisms decomposes tissue + organs→ self digestion
- discoloration of skin of lower abdomen- first sign of decomposition (putrefaction)
discoloration will spread across body + darken to reddish green and then purple-black
methane released so body bloats + skin blisters
what happens weeks after death
- tissue liquefied + fluid seeps out
- body no longer stiff
what is left months and then years after death
skeleton- months
skeleton disintegrates- years
what temp and degree or rigor mortis is the body at 3 hours after death
warm, not stiff
what temp and degree or rigor mortis is the body at 3-8 hours after death
warm and stiff
what temp and degree or rigor mortis is the body at 8-36 hours after death
cold and stiff
what temp and degree or rigor mortis is the body more than 36-48h after death
cold and not stiff
what is algor and rigor mortis
What does core temp depend on
algor mortis- cooling of body after death
cooling of the body follows a sigmoid curve
- core temp depends on ambient temp
- ambient temp fluctuates over time
rigor mortis- stiffening of muscles after death
smaller muscles stiffen first during rigor mortis
what are the factors affecting post-mortem cooling
- body size
- body position
- clothing
- air movement
- humidity
- temp of surroundings
- body temp measured via rectum or abdomen
what is forensic entomology and how can it be used to determine time of death
Forensic entomology- presence of insects used to estimate how much time since death
- determine rate of maggot development can be determines using maggot mass, temp of air around body
- determine age of maggots + time eggs were laid gives a minimum time since death
what are the changes in insects present as the body decomposes
after death= bacteria
decomposed tissue= flies + larvae
dry tissue= beetles, flies leave
no tissue= no organisms
what is succession in terms of decomposition
as one group of organism feeds on a decomposing body, conditions change in a way that is attracts another group of organisms due to bacterial decomposition which makes the body suitable for different insects
how do forensic entomologists use succession of organisms on a corpse to determine time of death
forensic entomologists use sequence of organisms feeding on body to determine time of the death by seeing what stage of the life cycle the insects colonising the body are at, which can be used to determine age of maggots and estimate the time the eggs were laid
what is an example of an investigation that can be used to study the effect of temperature on the time taken for the first instar maggot to become a pupa
1) use a range of temps
2) water bath
3) timing starts when eggs hatch into instar maggots + ends when the third instar maggots begin to pupate
4) provide food for maggots
5) control humidity
what are the conditions that affect the life cycle of an insect
- dugs
- humidity
- oxygen
- temp
what is the effect on temp on the rate of decomposition
- low temp- slows down decomposition
- warm temps speed it up
- highest rate between 21-38C
- intense heat denatures enzymes involved in autolysis which delays decay
- injuries→ bacteria can enter body which aids decomposition
what is DNA profiling used for
used for the identification + determining genetic relationships between organisms + plants
what is PCR used for
DNA can be amplified using the polymerase chain reaction
what are exons
sequences that contain the code for a peptide (protein) and are expressed
what are introns
- non coding sequences of mRNA
a large amount of DNA doesnt code for proteins
recall the process of post transcriptional modification
- 1 gene codes for more than one protein
- this is due to alternative splicing of exons- different combinations of exons form
- this happens in the spliceosome
what are STRs
- with introns, you have short tandem repeat sequences (STR) also called satellite DNA
- an STR can contain from 2-50 base pairs and can be repeated from 5-several hundred times
- more similar repeats= more related
what do the exons do during transcription
During transcription exons join to form mRNA
what is pre mRNA made up of
pre-mRNA is mRNA with introns + exons
how do you extract DNA from plant material
- tissue sample is physically broken down in a buffer that includes salt a detergent to disrupt the cell membranes
- the small suspended particles including the DNA are separated from the rest of the cell debris by filtering or centrifuging
- protease enzymes are incubated with the suspension to remove proteins and then cold ethanol is added to precipitate out the DNA
- stages of washing the DNA in a buffer solution then follow
what is the role of a restriction enzyme in PCR
cut dna using restriction enzyme - scans DNA until it finds a specific sequence/site and cuts it into fragments
if enzyme cuts at two points- gives three fragments
dna cut with the same restriction enzyme have the same sticky ends so come back together
what is gel electrophoresis used for
used to figure out the size of DNA
what is the process of gel electrophoresis
-has wells where you insert DNA
-positive charge at the bottom
-dna is negative and is pulled down by the positive charge as it is attracted
-smaller fragments travel further than larger fragments
-sorted according to length of proteins
what is the role of a primer
bonds to complimentary site on DNA, grabs onto dna and allows taq polymerase (can withstand high temps) to drive DNA down and copy the DNA
what is taq DNA polymerase
Taq DNA polymerase is a temperature resistant enzyme responsible for dna replication by assembling nucleotides along a complimentary strand
artificial complementary sequences of DNA that latch onto the desired sequences so that DNA polymerase can attach to the strand and begin synthesising a complimentary strand
what is the role of fluorescent markers
allows you to see how much DA has been amplified, this is different to the gel electrophoresis markers
what is the role of nucleotides in PCR
to synthesise new complimentary strands of DNA
what is recombinant DNA
DNA that has been formed artificially by combining DNA fragments from different organisms
recall the sequence of events of PCR
- a sample is treated with detergent to break open cells + release the DNA
- DNA primers- DNA polymerase, DNA primers with fluorescent markers and nucleotides added to reaction tube which is put into the PCR thermal cycler
- 95C- the DNA strands separate
- 55C- primers attach at the start of each STR sequence
- DNA polymerase attach and replication occurs from each primer. in each cycle that follows the process is repeated producing copies that are just the STR sequence fragment. millions of these STR fragments are produced and can be separated out by gel electrophoresis
- steps 3-6 are repeated in a cycle
at what temperature does the DNA strands separate in PCR
95C
at what temperature do primers attach to the start of each STR
55C
how do you work out how many DNA molecules are produced in x amo8unt of cycles
you do 2 to the power of however many cycles
what is the difference between taq polymerase and human enzymes
taq polymerase can withstand high temperatures and is used to synthesise new DNA strands through complimentary base pairing
what is DNA fingerprinting
analyses short tandem repeats/ introns
used for investigating crime scenes
assumes every individuals DNA is unique
how is DNA fingerprinting carried out
- sample of DNA is extracted and purified
- PCR carried out to amplify the STR
- different length STRs are separated using gel electrophoresis (similar to chromatography)
how is gel electrophoresis used to determine size of molecules
- separate molecules based on size
- DNA moves through the gel which provides the medium of fragments to move to the positive electrode
- shorter STRs travel further than longer STRs since they have a higher molecular weight
- DNA ladder has known fragment sizes
- the unknown DNA bands are compared to the known weights on the ladder to estimate their weights
- the DNA can be dyed to compared to a molecular weight band
how are DNA profiles compared
- compare total number of bands
- compare position of bands
- compare sizes of bands
- number of bands that match the sample indicate similarity of DNA
what are VNTRs
repeated sequences + occur in non coding regions
what is the role of southern blotting
makes the banding pattern more stable- the DNA is transferred to a nylon membrane to be viewed
why may DNA profiling results may not be absolutely conclusive
- DNA profiling has several stages
- contaminations can arise at any stage
- only a small portion of DNA is analysed
- possibility of two identical profiles from unrelated individuals
- identical twins may show identical profiles
what are pathogens
- pathogens cause damage by taking nutrition from the host
- a pathogen is any organism that causes disease
diseases caused by pathogens → infectious diseases
how do bacteria damage cells
- belong to prokaryote kingdom- no nucleus
- damage cells by releasing toxins
recall the organelles in bacteria
flagella
pili
bacterial chromosome
plasmids
capsule
plasma membrane
cell wall
ribosomes
what is the role of the flagellum
rotates to make bacteria move
what is the role of pili
help bacteria stick to other cells and can be used in gene transfer
what is the structure of bacterial chromosomes in the cytoplasm
- dna floats free in the cytoplasm
- most of the dna is in one long coiled up strand
what are plasmids
small loops of DNA that arent part of the chromosome
what are plasmids
small loops of DNA that arent part of the chromosome
what are mesosomes
also may contain folds called mesosomes
what is the role of the cell wall
supports the cell
how do viruses attack
invade cell and take over the organelles and genetic material
what is the structure of viruses
made up of DNA or RNA which is the core nucleic acid
capsid
envelope
attachment protein
protein inside capsid
what does the capsid of a virus do
carry proteins inside their capsid
what is the role of attachment proteins on viruses
attachment proteins stick out from their capsid and let the virus cling to a suitable host
what is the envelope
outer layer which is stolen from the cell membrane of the previous host cell
what is the role of the protein coat
capsid which protects the DNA/RNA
what are the characteristics of viruses
- no ribosomes
- lack of internal structures
- small
- strand of either RNA or DNA
- cant replicate without a host
what is HIV and what does it do
HIV- human immunodeficiency virus:
- infects and destroys a type of white blood cell→ destroys T-helper cell
- T helper cell activates other immune system cells
How does HIV destroy T-helper cells and why does it do this
they acts as a host for HIV as it replicates inside the cell (can only reproduce this way)
HIV doesnt have organelles to replicate on its own which is why it uses the organelles of the host cell
how does HIV spread
- is spread through infected bodily fluids
- when these fluids come into contact with mucosal surfaces or damaged tissue or injected into blood stream infection occurs
how does HIV replicate
- attachment protein which is a glycoprotein called gp120 attaches to receptor on cell membrane of T helper cell
- capsid of HIV released into the cell, uncoats and releases its genetic material into the cells cytoplasm
- reverse transcriptase makes a complimentary strand of DNA from the viral RNA template
- from this double stranded DNA is made and inserted into human DNA
- host cell enzymes are used to make viral proteins from the viral DNA found within the DNA
- viral proteins are assembled into new viruses which burst from the cell and go onto infect other cells
it replicates rapidly
what is the latency period
- latency period- HIV replication drops to a lower level after the period of rapid replication
- during this period the infected person wont experience any symptoms
what does HIV cause
HIV causes AIDS
AIDS- acquired immune deficiency syndrome
what is AIDS
this is when the immune system deteriorates and eventually fails
when symptoms of a persons failing immune system start to appear or their T helper count drops below a certain level they are classified as having AIDS
what is opportunistic infection
opportunistic infection- when people with AIDS develop diseases and infections that wouldnt usually cause serious problems in people with a healthy immune system
What are the initial symptoms of aids and how does AIDS progress
- initial symptoms of AIDS- minor infections of mucous membranes which is caused by low T helper cell count
- as AIDS progresses, number of T helper cells decreases further. patients become more susceptible to serious infections such as tuberculosis
- late stage of AIDS- very low number of T helper cells and suffer from a range of serious infections which kill the AIDS patients rather than HIV itself
what factors affect the progression and survival of AIDS
- existing infection
- the strain of HIV they’ve infected
- age
- access to healthcare
which bacteria causes tuberculosis
mycobacterium tuberculosis
how is tuberculosis contracted/spread
when tiny droplets containing the bacteria are inhaled into the lungs
what happens when someone is infected with TB
- the bacteria are taken up by a phagocyte which is a type of white blood cell
- replicates inside the phagocytes
- the immune system seals off the infected phagocytes in structures in the lungs called tubercles so people dont develop TB straight away
- when sealed inside the tubercles the bacteria become dormant and infected person shows no obvious symptoms
- later, the dormant bacteria may become reactivated and overcome the immune system which causes TB
who is reactivation of TB more likely in
people with weakened immune system
what are the initial symptoms of TB
- fever
- general weakness
- severe coughing
- inflammation